Irony overload part 2 - Driving home tonight, I got behind a beat-up Chevy pickup with the following stickers on the back and rear windshield: an American flag, a Jesus fish symbol, a "God Bless the Troops" ribbon, a Boston Red Sox sticker, a #6 Mark Martin sticker, a #88 Dale Jarrett sticker and...a Harvard sticker.

Irony overload alert

Here’s Roger Ebert reflecting on the backlash against “Crash” upsetting “Brokeback Mountain” for best picture. He feels that “Crash” was the better movie and that fans of the other movie should just let it go rather than blaming homophobia in Hollywood:

Yes, and more than one critic described "Crash" as "the worst film of the year," which is as extreme as saying John Kerry was a coward in Vietnam. It means you'll say anything to help your campaign.

Let it go, Roger, let it go.

Any excuse will do

Read the “Background on Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar” from Terrorism Unveiled:

The guy I spoke with also said he seemed to have few friends and didn't "fit-in" socially. From this and his actions, Taheri-azar fits well as a "lone wolf" actors that go out and try to do the "will of Allah." Socially awkward and looking for something to legitimize themselves, to make them feel "worth" something---they turn to this type of behavior.

They find a purpose in a religious ideology because they are empty. He had money, he had an education from one of the finest schools in the country [I am biased], he had a job (although it was at a local fast food restaurant--Jimmy John's subs) he turned to this. Once again, this shows that it's not necessarily poverty that drives people to take on these type of causes.

Then review some assorted quotes from Eric Hoffer’s “The True Believer” such as this one:

"Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. Thus people haunted by the purposelessness of their lives try to find a new content not only by dedicating themselves to a holy cause but also by nursing a fanatical grievance."

Those grievances can include – but are not limited to – Danish cartoons, Burger King ice creams cones, and Dutch documentaries.

Amazing art – Sand Fantasy. Check out “Just imagine” (Warning: large file. Broadband only)

Oscar quote of the day - From the Toronto Star: “Never before have the nominees for the best picture Academy Award been so exclusively devoted to liberal dreams, liberal nightmares.” Watch for this headline on Drudge tomorrow morning: “Acadamy Awards suffer lowest ratings ever.”

Update – Slate stole my line: “Is anyone going to watch this ceremony? Jon Stewart is a niche performer. The nominated movies are really small-scale; there's no big-ticket middlebrow picture like Titanic or Forrest Gump. I can already envision the 32-point, all-caps Drudge Report headline on Monday decrying the low ratings.”

Extra – Mark at Decision 08 has the first annual Academy Awards spectacular. Pudding will be served.

Follow-up - Second worst ratings ever: "The Academy Awards were down 10 percent from last year's ceremony, based on preliminary Nielsen Media Research ratings from the nation's 55 biggest markets. If the full national ratings follow suit later Monday, this year's ceremony will likely be the second least-watched Oscars telecast behind 2003, when "Chicago" won best picture."

Howard Dean – the gift that keeps on giving

How we ever tricked the Democrats into making him their chairman, I’ll never know. From the WashPost: “Democratic leaders question whether Dean’s right on the money”:

Democratic congressional leaders are particularly worried because the Republican National Committee holds a huge financial advantage over the DNC. One congressional Democrat complained that Dean has -- at an alarming rate -- burned through the money the DNC raised, and that Republicans may be able to swamp Democrats in close races with an infusion of RNC money.

In its most recent filing with the Federal Election Commission, the DNC reported raising $50.1 million so far in the 2005-2006 cycle and had $5.8 million cash on hand at the end of last year. The RNC had raised $103 million and had $34 million cash on hand.

William Kristol was on Fox News Sunday this morning and revealed that he thinks the GOP could lose the House of Representatives in November if current polling trends continue. Which they won’t…and he should know better. First of all, eight months is an eternity in politics. The Dubai port controversy will have been long resolved by then. Second, congressional elections largely hinge on pocketbook issues and the economy is still in strong shape. Third, the Democrats could seize the advantage if they “nationalize” the midterm elections like Newt Gingrich did in 1994, but they’re incapable of forming a unified national message. And fourth thru tenth, the GOP has a substantial money advantage so that Republicans can shape the debate in November. The way thing look right now, the Democrats will pick up a handful of seats, well below historical trends, but they won't control the gavel in 2006.

Update your links – David Wissing has moved to Hedgehog Report dot com. The way it should be.

An imam grows in Brooklyn

From the NYT - “A Muslim leader in Brooklyn, reconciling two worlds”:

The imam slips into a plain brick building, nothing like the golden-domed mosque of his youth. He stops to pray, and then climbs the cracked linoleum steps to his cluttered office. The answering machine blinks frantically, a portent of the endless questions to come.

A teenage girl wants to know: Is it halal, or lawful, to eat a Big Mac? Can alcohol be served, a waiter wonders, if it is prohibited by the Koran? Is it wrong to take out a mortgage, young Muslim professionals ask, when Islam frowns upon monetary interest?

In other words, everybody wants to know if they can act American. But it would be all-too-easy to make a snide remark here. The article suggests that Sheik Reda Shata is making a genuine attempt to bridge the gap between Islamic and Western culture:

"America transformed me from a person of rigidity to flexibility," said Mr. Shata, speaking through an Arabic translator. "I went from a country where a sheik would speak and the people listened to one where the sheik talks and the people talk back."

Wondering about that Big Mac question?

Is a Big Mac permissible? Yes, the imam says, but not a bacon cheeseburger.

D’oh! (Hat tip to Ann Althouse).

Probably nothing to see here - But still: “Coalition forces are investigating claims Zarqawi may have been detained in the raid in the Jazerra region.”

Can we call this a terrorist attack?

A former student at the University of North Carolina rented an SUV and plowed it through a popular campus gathering spot. Six kids were injured (none seriously) and the graduate with degrees in psychology and philosophy surrendered to police. Here’s the rub:

The FBI joined the case because Taheri-azar, a native of Iran, "allegedly made statements that he acted to avenge the American treatment of Muslims," said agent Richard Kolko, an FBI spokesman in Washington. "The ongoing investigation will work to confirm this."

Full name: Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar. Although we dare not profile. Yes, isn't it awful how we allow Muslims into the country, educate them at our universities, and offer them gainful employment? When will the repression end? Much more at Memeorandum.

Extra – From Lorie on Polipundit: “What a genius. He is upset about the way Muslims are treated so he plows down college students at one of the most liberal universities in the South.”

More – Confederate Yankee: “Jeep Jihad”

Critical care - From Fox News: “The mythology of health care reform”

The beginning of the end for Air America – From (natch) Brian Maloney: “In a development sure to rip the heart right out of the liberal radio network's already ailing body, it appears extremely likely their leased New York City flagship station WLIB-AM will soon abandon Air America programming.”

Second amendment diary – My first handgun

Six months after taking my firearms class, three months after receiving my Class A permit, and two weeks after my federal tax return came (so that I could afford it), I purchased my first handgun.

I had been leaning towards the Smith & Wesson 910S, but at the local sporting goods store there was a used S&W Model 908 available for half the price of a new gun. The 9mm pistol looked brand new and one of the two clips in the case clearly had never seen gunpowder. The guy at the store broke it down for me so I could see how everything fits together, threw in a box of ammunition, and that was that.

I don’t know when I’ll get a chance to try it out, but I’m glad to have it. Like I’ve told my wife (who’s been very supportive), if there’s some kind of cataclysm such as a nuclear bomb going off in Baltimore, it’s going to be utter chaos. And if I never take it out of the case again, I’ll be a happy man. But if I need it, thank heaven it’s there. Now I have to get a floor safe and some additional safety equipment.

The horror, the horror – Sorry for the light posting, but I had to go see “Monsters Inc. On Ice” at the Springfield Civic Center Mass Mutual Center. The tickets were a reasonable $10 for the show but inside they wanted $15 for a program and $18 for a spinning flashlight. So essentially they’re letting you in at a low price so that screaming, spoiled kids can get crap sold at outrageous margins. What a racket.

Not naked


From People: “Jessica Alba angry over Playboy cover”: “Jessica Alba, who graces the cover of Playboy's March issue wearing a bikini, isn't happy to be there. In a lengthy letter obtained by the Smoking Gun Web site from the legal department of Columbia Pictures (the studio behind Alba's movie Into the Blue) to the men's magazine's legal department, the film company expresses "dismay and anger over the outrageous, unethical behavior" it claims the magazine exercised "to obtain the photograph of Jessica Alba that was used without authorization."

“Unethical behavior” to obtain a photo of Jessica? I’d say that happens a half-dozen times a day on the Internet. Maybe twenty.

Quote of the Day – From Senator Frank Lautenberg: "We wouldn't transfer the title to the devil; we're not going to transfer it to Dubai.” Smooth.

Up up up – Will Franklin shows what the payroll tax will rise to if Social Security is not reformed.

Hermione huffs Heineken – Emma Watson, looking good, and having a couple illicit drinks. When is she legal, anyway? To, um, drink alcohol? That's what I meant.

Down the hatch

The consensus is that “Lost” has never “jumped the shark” but the end of last night’s episode was Fonzie putting on the water skis. Jonah Goldberg has it right:

I thought the prisoner's toying with Locke's head was really poorly written. This Locke guy has been a rock for two seasons, a superman. And then, with one hamfisted suggestion that he's a yes man, he throws a hissy fit? Totally implausible.

Especially since earlier in the episode, Locke warns Mr. Eko to be careful when speaking to the prisoner because “he’s smart.” Even if Locke was agitated, he never would have let it show after the prisoner made it obvious he could hear everything. A real eye-rolling moment.

Lord Xenu is not pleased – It looks like Tom Cruise won’t be dropping by the Rolling Stone offices anytime soon. Here’s the evil article spreading all those lies about Scientology.