Though it should come as no surprise, even the cuddly fuzzy Easter Bunny is not safe from the Thought Police:

A small Easter display was removed from the City Hall lobby on Wednesday out of concern that it would offend non-Christians.

The display - a cloth Easter bunny, pastel-colored eggs and a sign with the words "Happy Easter'' - was put up by a City Council secretary. They were not purchased with city money.

Tyrone Terrill, the city's human rights director, asked that the decorations be removed. Terrill said no citizen had complained to him.

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Blog Bud Rick Calvert at The Real Ugly American scored an interview with Weekly Standard co-editor and FoxNews' co-"Beltway Boy" Fred Barnes to talk about his new book, "Rebel-In-Chief".

I myself just finished the book and found it to be a compelling study of the style and vision of President George W. Bush. Not surprisingly, Barnes book is a glowing assessment of this Presidency. But more importantly, he gets to the heart of why his supporters love him and why his detractors hate him - he's a rebel who came to Washington and shook up the status quo.

Kudos to Rick for an excellent job. Go read it now to read Barnes' thoughts about Bush, Politics and even Blogs!

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The phrase "Big Government Conservative" was coined by Fred Barnes of The Weekly Standard to describe the current spending trend among today's Republican's (he discusses the origin of the term in his book "Rebel-In-Chief" which I highly recommend BTW). The idea that the GOP is running away from "fiscal discipline" and running up the national debt has many Republicans in general (and Conservatives in particular) losing their minds that their party is losing their way.

Nick Danger makes a very interesting post titled "I, Heretic" over at Red State that gives new perspective to this phenomena.

"Here's why we don't have small government: People don't want it. They say they do, but when you threaten to give it to them, they vote for the Other Guys. It took Republican politicians decades to figure this out, and most Republican voters still haven't figured it out. The fastest way to become the minority political party in the United States is to become the party of government frugality and fiscal discipline. Let the Democrats do that. We've been there, done that, and have Bob Dole to prove it.

Besides, the Democrats are lying. The minute they got in, they'd start spending like, well, like George Bush and the Republican Congress are spending. But there's a difference: they'd be spending it on their stuff. More social engineering. More government-dependency programs. More crosses soaked in more urine on more government grants."

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Drudge has reproduced a blackberry e-mail written by an ABC Executive watching the President's speech.

John Green, executive producer of the weekend edition of "Good Morning America" (I didn't even know it had a weekend addition), writes:

"Are you watching this? Bush makes me sick. If he uses the 'mixed messages' line one more time, I'm going to puke."

UPDATE 4:00pm:
Note, I failed to notice something significant about the email. The date is September 30, 2004. This was the date of the first Presidential debate against John Kerry in St. Louis, MO. So he sent this to someone (possibly at ABC) as he was watching it. Considering how things turned out on November 2, 2004, that makes this even funnier.

Any doubt that Bush made this guy "sick" enough to present the news in a way that favored Kerry over the following five weeks?

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1 Are we suprised? NO! Are we amused? YES!

Posted by: Worn Out! at March 23, 2006 03:52 PM (PxX2b)

2 If I hear one more time how "fair and balanced" the MSM is in it's coverage of US foreign policy, I'm gonna puke!

Posted by: skye at March 24, 2006 12:08 AM (CyqMo)

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Three Christian Peaceniks that were kidnapped and held by terrorists in Iraq were freed today - not through the benevolence of their captors, however. U.S. and British troops risked their own necks in a rescue operation to get them out. A fourth captive had been shot by his kidnappers and dumped in a Baghdad street. The terrorists had threatened the lives of the other three.

But where's the gratitude? Forget about it! In a statement released by the activists' organization, Christian Peacemakers Teams, the rescue by the coalition troops wasn't even so much as acknowledged. Instead, they used the occasion to criticize the forces who saved the sorry asses of their people and give aid and comfort to the scum who kidnapped them in the first place.

"We believe that the illegal occupation of Iraq by Multinational Forces is the root cause of the insecurity which led to this kidnapping and so much pain and suffering in Iraq. The occupation must end."

If someone is idiotic enough to seek out these animals to try and "reason" with them only to be captured and have their lives threatened then their fate should be left to themselves. Let them "negotiate" their own release rather than risk troops who have a job to do.

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Eh, who cares?

via Cox & Forkum

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Ouch, the Liberal blogosphere has gone completely nuts at the very idea that the WaPo online would dare to give a blog column to a Conservative writer.

Jane Hamsher, the woman who produced the ever-so tasteful psychotic murder-fest, "Natural Born Killers", has a post up on her blog, firedoglake, that goes on a complete rampage.

She lashes out at the new blog's author, Ben Domenech (though she spells it Domanech), with such lovely invectives as "thick-witted, mouth breathing home schooled freak" and a "jingoistic feces flinger" from the "Red State racist woodpile". And as if personal attacks aren't enough, she also gets herself all excited about an apparent hit-job in the works by Liberal bloggers to attack Domenech's credibility in whatever way they can.

"Already the hunt is on to extract every stupid thing he’s ever said, every soupçon of doltish ignorance for which he has ever claimed authorship to be collected and disseminated throughout the blogosphere and beyond."

What is wrong with these people? They're so threatened by diversity of opinion that their knee-jerk reaction is to lash-out like this? And they wonder why we call them "moonbats".

UPDATE 3/24/06 3:45pm:
While I obviously find the personal attacks on Domenech reprehensible and tasteless, it looks like he has committed the cardinal sin of writing (much less blogging) in his younger days: plagiarism. Whether it's Jayson Blair at the NYTimes or Ben Domenech at the Washington Post, this offense is unforgivable and therefore he must be banished to the Phantom Zone.

As such, Domenech has resigned from the WaPo online. The Left, in their...ahem...overzealousness, has actually done Conservatives a favor in uncovering this matter sooner rather than later. It would have been much worse had Domenech continued to write for weeks, even months, building a loyal following only to have his plagiarism become an even bigger deal. Thanks guys.

The Post looks pretty stupid now. The best way for them to recover their credibility would be to hire another Conservative blogger - after fully vetting him or her - and show that they are still committed to a diversity of opinion on their editorial staff. Whomever it is, however, had better have a thick skin. Because fringe Liberals have shown how thin their skin is - preferring to attack those who disagree with them rather than defending their own ideas.

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That's the question that JP at Americans For Freedom looks at. He weighes the Arizona Senator's pros and cons and looks at the competition for 2008.

Interesting analysis that I mostly agree with. However, I think either Mitt Romney or George Allen can win if they wage strong and prudent campaigns. McCain isn't my first choice as the GOP nominee two years from now, but I would vote for him if he were.

Critics of Romney and Allen cite their lack of name recognition as a major weakness but that can change pretty quickly if either were to beat McCain or end up a close second in the NH primary. It's a long ways away.

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Ben Domenech, one of the founders of Redstate, has been given a blog column of his own at the WaPo online.

Go visit "Red America". Funny that it's not listed on the WaPo's main blog page. Then again the end of that page's URL does read: "?nav=left". Hmmmm. I'll have to add to the main blogroll so I can find it more easily.

UPDATE: 3:40pm
Oh, this is rich. Apparently, when Post reporter Tom Edsall opened up the chatlines today he got an earfull from pissed-off Lefties about the new "Red America" column.

Here's an example:
"The hiring of the Red State Blogger is yet another example of why I cancelled my subscription to The Post and do not intend to ever re-instate it. The Post's view that it needs to "balance" viewpoints buys into the notion that The Washington Post adequately provides a forum for a liberal viewpoint. Do you really believe that The Post has an over abundance of liberal viewpoints?"

I damn near had my coffee spilling out my nose I laughed to hard at that one. The WaPo op-ed pages are so full of Liberal opinion you barely notice the Conservative one.

What is it about Conservative opinion that so terrifies these people that they object to it even being printed? Criticize it, ridicule it or ignore it if you will. But to fear it? Talk about insecure.

UPDATE: 3/24/06 3:45pm
Considering that the "Red America" column is no more, it's now off the Blogroll.

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Bill Clinton has been told in no uncertain terms that - as far as his wife's political future is concerned - Hillary is calling the shots.

The former President agreed to give his wife a veto to avoid his habit of making controversial headlines that could hurt her chances of returning to the White House, multiple sources told the Daily News.

"He knows it's Hillary's time now," said an adviser close to both Clintons who expects to play a key role in her likely 2008 presidential campaign.

Hillary Clinton's handlers are keeping a close rein on the former President's schedule to try to prevent another embarrassing screwup like their competing roles in the Dubai ports deal.

The former President's political instincts are his greatest strength. Hillary doesn't have her husband's personal magnetism and charm. But you would think she would want the benefit of Bill's advice handy as a reality check. Will she embrace it or disregard it? And how much does she really trust him at this point in their relationship? Running for President is challenging enough without having the feeling that you're the smartest person in the room.

I have no doubt that the NY Senator acted very much the "co-President" while she was in the White House. But it must have been difficult for her to ultimately accept only a supporting role for eight long years. It doesn't suit her. This is now her chance to be the boss but if she's not careful she might end up relying solely on her own political instincts (or lack thereof) which would make the next two and a half years more fun for the GOP.

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The Llamas have discovered Flash.

The Blogosphere will never be the same again. Dammit, I can't stop listening to this!!

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Had a little...ahem...bandwidth issue there. But all is well now! Thanks, Pixy!

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1 Yay!!! I was a little worried there for a while! Thought you had run out of things to say! :wink: (Yeah, right...)

Posted by: Georgia Girl at March 20, 2006 09:20 PM (EvFfn)

2 I am very glad! Besides reading here, I check out what the next day DBD looks like (you're some hours ahead of me) :wink:

Posted by: chris Muir at March 20, 2006 09:36 PM (RklOC)

3 I should be thrilled. I got a "day off" and there was nothing I could do about it. When your host administrator lives in Australia, it kind of throws off your communication. I'm way ahead of him too!

Posted by: Gary at March 20, 2006 09:43 PM (dCTyM)

4 ...or is he way ahead of me? I can never keep track of that. :confused:

Posted by: Gary at March 20, 2006 09:43 PM (dCTyM)

5 I have no idea what the time is down under..! :shock:

Posted by: chris Muir at March 20, 2006 10:17 PM (RklOC)

6 Yeah, I almost canceled my subscription to your blog! I demand uninterrupted service!

Posted by: Wordsmith at March 21, 2006 10:57 AM (nrGCx)

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This week's Carnival of the Raging RINOs is up at Below The Beltway - go check 'em out!

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To commemorate the third anniversary of the beginning of offensive operations in Iraq, Left-wing 60's throwbacks who had nothing better to do this weekend assembled to voice their opposition in many cities across the U.S. Unfortunately for them, most of numbers anticipated for these gatherings fell far short of expectations.

It was a regular "Big Chill" fest with aging ex-hippies reliving the "good old days" when their protests actually made a difference.

One of the biggest protests was in San Francisco, for decades a hub of anti-war sentiment. Police there estimated the crowd gathered outside City Hall at about 6,000 people. Many chanted slogans opposing Bush, and most appeared to hail from a distinctly grayer demographic than that of other protest events.

''There are not enough young people here,'' said Paul Perchonock, 61, a physician. ''They don't see themselves as having a stake.''

After the protests subsided, many of the participants headed over to the nearest Chinese Buffet in time to get their senior discounts.

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This week's 80's Crush is: Sean Young

Birth Name: Mary Sean Young
Birth Date: 11/20/59
Age Today: 46
Birthplace: Louisville, KY

80's Crush Because: Male fans of the classic Bill Murray comedy "Stripes" can be broken down into two groups: you either had a crush on P.J. Soles or Sean Young. You can count me in the latter group. Sean Young has that nice mix of sexy and fun that made her the perfect mistress. And she played that part to the hilt in the 1987 thriller "No Way Out" with Kevin Costner.

Other Notable Roles: Sean played the very lifelike android "Rachael" in the sci-fi favorite "Bladerunner" and appeared as twins Dorothy and Ellen Carson in the 1991 mystery "A Kiss Before Dying" with Matt Dillon.

Most Recent Media Appearance: Sean played "Isadora Duncan" in the TV mini-series "Esenin".

Distinguishing features: Big brown eyes and full kissable lips.

Career Moment She'd Probably Like To Forget: Sean played a woman who was once a man in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and a woman who was transformed from a man in Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde. Take your pick.

Interesting Factoids: Sean had a reputation as a bit of a whack-job thanks to stalking rumors started by former boyfriend, actor James Woods. She was cast as Vicki Vale in the 1989 "Batman" but had to be replaced by fellow 80's Crush Kim Basinger. She hurt her wrist in a horseback riding accident in preparation for a scene in the film that was eventually written out of the script. But not to be deterred, Sean pursued an opportunity in the sequel "Batman Returns" to star as Catwoman but Director Tim Burton wasn't interested. She also screen tested for the role of Marion Ravenwood in "Raiders of the Lost Ark".

Still Crushin'?: Not really. This is a true "80's crush. I haven't thought about Sean until recently. But she still rates as a hot actress for her age.

Crush Meter: 8 out of 10

Ladies, don't forget to check out AgentBedhead for her male 80's crush up just for you.

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Seven months ago, I was fortunate enough to be invited to join the Mu Nu universe by Steve the Llamabutcher. Up until that point, I had my problems with Blogger but I figured, "hey, you get what you pay for (or don't pay for)".

However, something happened recently with the Google-owned Blogsnot that is every blogger's nightmare. At least two high profile (and Conservative) bloggers have had their sites completely wiped out due to "server problems". Eric Lindholm (Viking Pundit) and Betsy Newmark (Betsy's Page) now face the possiblity of losing years worth of work. Worse still for Betsy, some sumbitch went and hijacked her URL - just to be a wanker. It's most likely some Liberal pussy but we'll never know because he doesn't have the balls to allow his profile to be viewed.

Eric's URL is currently being held for him by Scott Elliott - The Blogging Caesar. And while the future of Eric's data is uncertain, Betsy's has been retrieved through a Google cache thanks to Duane at The Forest For The Trees. But neither have received any satisfactory response from Blogsnot.

Also this whole business seems a bit fishy. Polipundit notes:

"Blogger is owned by Google, whose employees give 98 percent of their political donations to Democrats. Coincidence?"

"Blogger has the potential to represent one of the most significant informational advancements in the past two centuries – but it appears to not care about whether the system is working correctly. Not one person to my knowledge who reported a problem to Blogger about the disappearing blogs, has yet received any response but a useless form e-email. Not one person received any sort of explanation about what caused the shutdown, or when they could expect their blog to come back."

I had every archive from February to August 2005 migrated to the new site on Mu Nu, but I've still got seven months worth of photos uploaded to Blogger's server. Not to mention that the Tolkien Geek site is on Blogsnot. As a user of Blogger, I'd like an explanation as well!

Say it with me folks: BLOGGER SUCKS!

UPDATE: 3/18/06 8:30am

THEY'RE BACK!!!

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Just couldn't choose between these two so here's both:

1) That's Amore!: An elderly Italian couple was pulled over in Rome because the female passenger had a different kind of ride in mind.

The zig-zagging car gave them away. When Italian police pulled over the vehicle, they found a completely naked 70-year-old woman who had been trying to have sex with the driver -- 11 years her junior.

After demanding the joy-riding couple get dressed, the police tested the semi-nude male motorist for drunk driving.

"He was three times over the legal (blood-alcohol) limit," said police commander Angelo D'Anardo in the city of Cologno al Serio, northeast of Milan.

"We assume they must have been drinking at lunch and then things got out of control."

2) Assault With A Not-So-Deadly Weapon: A man hacks off his own penis and throws it at the police?

Before cops threw the book at him, Jakub Fik threw something unusual at them -- his penis.

Fik, 33, cut off his own penis during a Northwest Side rampage Wednesday morning. When confronted by police, Fik hurled several knives and his severed organ at the officers, police said. Officers stunned him with a Taser and took him into custody.

"We took him out without any serious injury, with the exception of his own," said Chicago Police Sgt. Edward Dolan of the 16th District.

Doctors at Northwestern Memorial Hospital reattached Fik's penis Wednesday, sources said. He was listed in good condition Thursday, according to hospital spokesman Andrew Buchanan, who declined to comment further.

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There's been a lot of buzz generated by today's release of "V For Vendetta", the latest offering from the Wachowski Brothers (who managed to take a very cool "The Matrix" and turn it into a bucket of crap with its subsequent tedious sequels).

For those who don't know much about it, the preview makes it look pretty interesting. But before you plop down your $9 to make sure you're not the only one you know who hasn't seen it, you should be mindful that this film is more than just a heroic take on terrorism and anarchy. It's essentially a Left-wing paranoid fantasy that goes after the subject of fear-mongering by doing exactly that.

In an earlier post I highlighted this early review from the Conservative film blog, Libertas. It's worth linking again. Read the whole thing.

It's you're time and money, but just be aware of what you're paying to see.

Update: 11:45am
Debbie Schlussel weighes in to point out all of the Left's favorite screeds that are present in the film.

UPDATE: 3/21/06 9:30AM
Some people have called making this film an act of courage. Bah! Mark My Words takes a look at this claim.

According to Box Office Mojo, although it was the number one movie this past weekend, it only pulled in $25 million. And as far as opening weekends go, that's a little below average for a "comic book" film. It's just a bit more than the opening weekends for such stinkers as "Hellboy" and "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" but less than "Sin City" and "Blade II". On the all-time rankings for opening weekends it ranked 201 just behind "Big Momma's House".

It will be interesting to see what the effect of word-of-mouth will have in next couple of weeks.

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The President re-emphasized the U.S.'s current and continuing National Security Strategy today.

In his revised version, Bush offers no second thoughts about the preemption policy, saying it "remains the same" and defending it as necessary for a country in the "early years of a long struggle" akin to the Cold War. In a nod to critics in Europe, the document places a greater emphasis on working with allies and declares diplomacy to be "our strong preference" in tackling the threat of weapons of mass destruction.

"If necessary, however, under long-standing principles of self defense, we do not rule out use of force before attacks occur, even if uncertainty remains as to the time and place of the enemy's attack," the document continues. "When the consequences of an attack with WMD are potentially so devastating, we cannot afford to stand idly by as grave dangers materialize."

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I've been going at a frantic pace both at work and at home, which explains the light posting. But I've gathered up a bunch of links in my favorites since Monday that I need to cram all into one post:

- New York voters are fine about sending Hillary back to the Senate this November, but an astonishing 6 out 10 don't support her for President?

- Ralph Peters, columnist for the NY Post, went to Iraq. He's pleased to share his first-hand experiences to tear away the myths that the MSM have created about the situation. It ain't perfect, but things are going much better than they would have you believe.

- Jonathan Gurwitz in OpinionJournal.com skewers the Angry Left in the netroots and their feeble attempts to influence elections.

So far, threats like these seem the best the Angry Left can muster. They now have a disastrous 0-17 record stretching back to 2004. The netroots leaders resemble nothing so much as World War I commanders, who after each successive setback maintained that victory was tantalizingly close, and lobbed more artillery shells and threw more troops over the top. Similarly among the netroots, the article of faith is that victory is only a matter of trying harder, upping the rhetoric and raising more money.

- And Captain Ed calls Russ Feingold "Karl Rove's Secret Weapon".

Heh.

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