Sadly, No!

“LOS RANGERS”
By Michelle Malkin
May 06, 2006 10:44 AM

I’m not a baseball fan, but several readers wrote in about the Yankees-Rangers game last night. A sample:

Reader K…

Michelle, did you happen to see last night’s Texas Rangers NY Yankees baseball game? The Rangers uniforms were changed to read “LOS Rangers.” I guess this was done for that great American holiday, 5th of May. What an insult to the Texas Rangers.

Reader Steve…

I’m watching the Yankees-Rangers game tonight. I watch sports incessantly, and I can’t recognize who the Yankees are playing. Wooops, the “Los Rangers” painted on the front of their jersey. I had to work for three innings to figure that out because it was nothing but “neck-up” or wide angle shots. Don’t try checking ESPN.com (“CNN of sports”) or any other major sports website, it’s not even mentioned or advertised…Google searches will reveal obscure articles attributing the uniform to a Cinco de Mayo celebration. Certainly not a coincidental political statement, right? The hell with the MLB, I’m not watching another game.

[…]

I understand the Rangers wanted to do something innocuous to recognize a holiday celebrating historical and cultural pride. But the politically correct selectivity here is telling. While it’s considered a celebration of “diversity” to acknowledge the military sacrifices of another nation’s heroes, it’s considered racist to acknowledge the military sacrifices of one’s own.

Case in point: Can you imagine if someone proposed changing the Rangers’ jerseys to “Confederate Rangers” to celebrate Confederate Heroes’ Day?

Oh, and I’m sure I’ll be labeled a racist for pointing out the double standard.

Like that’s anything new…

She’s catching on to us.

Hey Michelle. Woop-woop action alert. Look what this team did to their logo:

Above: La insignia del equipo de béisbol, ‘The Saint James Fathers.’

Bradrocket adds: Michelle writes:

While it’s considered a celebration of “diversity” to acknowledge the military sacrifices of another nation’s heroes, it’s considered racist to acknowledge the military sacrifices of one’s own.

Congrats, Michelle. You’ve earned a well-deserved “¡Lamentablemente, No!”

Saturday’s 7:05 p.m. matchup with the Mets marks the Eleventh Annual “Military Opening Day” presented by Northrop Grumman Corporation. The Padres will continue their custom of donning camouflage uniforms, this time wearing a desert pattern worn by troops serving the Middle East.

Above: All-Star catcher Mike Piazza, who is definitely not acknowledging the military sacrifices of our troops.

I’m quite hung over right now.

But this is interestin’:

Just this past week, the CIA confirmed that its third-ranking official, a hand-picked appointee of Mr. Goss, had attended poker games at a hospitality suite set up by a defense contractor implicated in the bribing of former Rep. Cunningham. Friday, people with knowledge of the continuing Cunningham inquiry said the CIA official, Kyle “Dusty” Foggo, is under federal criminal investigation in connection with awarding agency contracts.

Despite publishing editorials by total fucking maniacs, the WSJ is still one of the best newspapers in the country. Here’s hopin’ they dig up some hookers! (Via teh Josh)

Also, the RoodPundit has this update:

CIA Executive Director Kyle “Dusty” Foggo has told friends he’ll resign his post next week, the Washington Post reports… The Wall Street Journal confirms that Foggo is under “federal criminal investigation” for improperly awarding agency contracts. Meanwhile, no one seems to have an answer for why Goss resigned so abruptly — without warning or explanation.

Heh. I wrote a song about this fiasco on a bar napkin last night. It was done under the influence of five or so pints, so it might not be good, but here it is anyway…

Gavin adds: Me too. I have one too. Oh yes.
Read the rest of this entry »

Kristol: ‘Sudden’ Goss Resignation Prompted By ‘Something That Popped This Week’

Bradrocket adds: More from the RoodPundit:

Two sources told me that the President’s discreet and influential Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board has been interviewing CIA officials and others over the past several weeks, as part of a larger investigation. My sources didn’t know or wouldn’t tell me what the panel was examining, only that “a lot” of the people it talked to “were unloading on the director.”

This is what I’ve been hearing on TV, but I’m still skeptical. This would mean that Bush was actually holding someone in his administration accountable for their actions. As anyone who’s familiar with his track record knows, that would be highly uncharacteristic. Added to this, remember that when Bush appointed Goss, it was seen as a big middle finger to the intelligence community. Why is he all of a sudden listening to their concerns?

UPDATE: Isikoff was just on TV. He apparently shares my opinion that this is about more than a cultural clash at the CIA. He speculated that something must have come up some time earlier this week the essentially forced Goss’ resignation.

MORE: J-Pod:

I doubt there’s a big scandal here, if only because the president chose to appear with Goss to announce the resignation. If Goss were somehow implicated in matters relating to Duke Cunningham, say, there’s no way on earth Bush would have made such a friendly show of his departure.

This would normally be a fair point. But lest we forget, Bush also pinned a Medal of Freedom on George “Slam Dunk” Tenet. I wouldn’t put anything past him.

Ackerman:

According to a CIA spokesperson (who spoke on background: “we’re not doing names today”) Goss’s resignation is “totally separate” from the controversy surrounding CIA Executive Director/former procurement official Dusty Foggo’s longtime friendship with defense/intelligence contractor Brent Wilkes, who’s currently the subject of a federal bribery investigation.

BOOOOOO!!! Where’s the fun in that? We want hookers, dammit! Hoo-kers, hoo-kers, hoo-kers!!!

Gavin adds: Right, Spencer Ackerman is going to call the CIA and the spokesperson is going to be like, “Uh, okay, you got me. It’s actually hookers. But I’m not allowed to say whether they’re gay hookers or not at the present time.”

Bradrocket adds: Fair enough.

Anyway, I’m off to the bar to watch Kevin Millar’s triumphant return to Fenway Pahk. I’ll be back later.

Justin Rood has a copy of Goss’ resignation statement.

Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t give a reason for stepping down. We still don’t know for sure if there’s anything seedy going on here, but neither Goss nor the White House have done very much to quash speculation.

[Gavin adds: They might not have been especially seedy ba-ba-boom wah-wah naked hookers.

Somebody sends me a blue dress and some DNA, I’ll have an investigation. –Goss on outing of Valerie Plame, October, 2003.

Bow chaka-wow…]

Newsflash: The administration has announced the resignation of CIA director Porter Gannon. Uh, Gay — Porter Gay. …I mean “Goss.”

Update: This is quite possibly unfair. Just because rumors have long swirled about Austin gay bar habitué Scott McClellan, and also the dapper Andrew Card, both recently resigned from White House employ, and just because Randy “Duke” Cunningham has admitted to homosexual liaisons, and despite the fact that former White House sleepover guest Jeff Gannon has suddenly begun appearing in public and in fact only this week admitted to his homosexuality, it does not necessarily mean that the hookers in question were male.

…Nor does the fact that Ken Mehlman is in a bit of hot soup at the moment, nor the fact that Condi Rice is a lesbian.

It is irresponsible to speculate too boldly in this regard. On the plus side, however, there are supposed to be photographs.

ALERT! ALERT! Drudge sez:

President Bush has scheduled a personnel announcement for 1:45 p.m. EDT… Developing…

Assuming this is accurate (and with Drudge, that’s not a safe assumption, but let’s play along anyway), who do you think’s gettin’ kicked to the curb this time? Rummy? Rove (I know, highly unlikely, but dare to dream)? Or someone disappointing and predictable like John Snow?

UPDATE: Atrios has the exact same thought:

Jeebus hates me too much for it to be “Karl Rove has resigned, effective immediately…” Probably will be more along the lines of “John Snow will be replaced by some other guy just like John Snow.”

Yep. I’m prepared for disappointment too. Of course, if Snow gets replaced with Neil Cavuto… well, that would be pretty entertaining…

UPDATE 2: It’s Porter Goss. That is very interesting indeed.

OK, conspiracy theorists, get to work!!!

UPDATE 3: Sorry, Annie scooped me. I should have said. And FYI, Porter Goss is the CIA director.

UPDATE 4: And they took no questions afterwards. Fascinating. There is definitely, definitely more to this.

Teh Josh:

We don’t know definitely why Goss pulled the plug yet. But the CIA Director doesn’t march over to the White House and resign, effective immediately, unless something very big is up.

UPDATE 5: MSNBC Military/Intel analyst Col. Ken Allard sez Goss resigned because of resistance in the intelligence community to his plans. This, of course, makes no sense. The White House appointed Goss with the specific intention of shaking up the intelligence community. His major qualification was his willingness to piss off career intelligence officers who didn’t toe the White House line.

UPDATE 6: The Editor’s speculates that it’s puh-puh-puh-puh-pony time!

UPDATE 7: Mucho amor to you too, Annie. And by the way, sorry to hear you got kicked off of Sean Hannity’s message board. You’ll always have a place here.

UPDATE 8: Atrios again:

According to Tim Russer this is all perfectly normal, a CIA director suddenly resigning with no advance warning to anyone and without a replacement chosen.

I’m so glad Tim’s there to accurately write down whatever the White House tells me.

Yep. I was psyched when MSNBC told me that Li’l Russ had “new information” about Goss’ resignation. But alas, he just repeated some BS line he heard from a “senior White House official,” a.k.a. Karl Rove’s fax machine.

There’s gotta be some reporter out there with a nose for dirt. C’mon, guys, go out there and rake that muck.

UPDATE 9: *Sigh* And we’re back to Patrick Kennedy again. Not that Kennedy’s crash isn’t a story, but the godddamn CIA director just resigned without prior notice on a Friday afternoon and without a replacement named. This is big news, guys.
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Once again, WorldNetDaily tackles the news that liberal reporters are too intelligent to cover:

Is coming national ID ‘mark of the beast’?

Opposition grows to federal law requiring data-filled card in 2008

Is the national ID card the next step toward the imposition of the biblical “mark of the beast” Christians believe will be required to buy and sell during the Last Days? […]

“There is a prophecy in the Bible that foretells a time when every person will be required to have a mark or a number, without which he or she will not be able to participate in the economy,” states the Christian website NoNationalID.com. “The prophecy is 2,000 years old, but it has been impossible for it to come to pass until now. With the invention of the computer and the Internet, this prophecy of buying and selling, using a number, can now be implemented at any time. Has the time for the fulfillment of this prophecy arrived?”

The site asks visitors to sign an online petition vowing not to vote for any candidate who does not commit to repealing the Real ID Act.

Hey, guys? I have a question.

Since prophecies inevitably come true no matter what, is there really any point to opposing the National ID Act? I mean, aren’t you just pissing God off by interfering with His Divine Plan? Let’s see if their website’s FAQ section provides some answers:
Read the rest of this entry »

Turning back to the Hitchens-Sullivan/Juan Cole controversy, let’s see what Sully’s been up to today.

Ah, another message from “Andrev Sullivam.” Yes, a frequent crafter of pertinent and agreeable notes to our columnist — a character in certain ways similar to the “Thomaz Friedmab” who drives a taxi in many foreign nations, and who always has thoughts to share on globalism. Watch this: next Andy will be all like, “Whoah, me neither.”

Me neither. The sheer quantity and amazing quality of Hitch’s output puts me to shame. And since I am not a member of the pleasure police, I have no problems with people actually enjoying their lives, rather than merely living them. Others, of course, clearly differ. And they are welcome to their asceticism. Just don’t mess with others’ recreation.

[Apologies to Terry Colon]

Sound the alarm! Bawroop! Bawroop! Michelle Malkin appears to have been the victim of a cyberjihadist attack! While I’m normally inclined to validate my bandwidth by standing in solidarity against such shenanigans, I must admit that these cyberjihadists posess a flair for satire that is both subtle and kind of awesome.

Dusky-hued gangbangers are infiltrating the armed forces? They’ve defaced a tank and numerous walls with gang graffiti and Spanish phrases? And you say they were smoking marijuana and throwing gang signs as they tore up an American flag and disrespect the president? ¡Ay caramba! That is some 24-karat comedy gold right there, folks. Check out this ominous, self-referencing postscript. It’s almost as if one the Malkins wrote it themselves:

Question: Do we really want thugs who mark their territory like animals and swear allegiance to criminal enterprises serving in uniform? Are we nuts?

The question answers itself.

***

Flashback: Gang infiltration isn’t the only internal danger to our troops.

Malkin (attr.): “Are we nuts? The question answers itself.”

Like everyone else, I got the hugest kick out of Roxanne’s Michelle Maklin spoof last year, but I think these clueful cyberjihadists may have one-upped her spot-on skewering with this one. Its comedic density threatens to collapse under the weight of its own hilarity, like a drunk tangled up in a tent.