Crippled Jet Lands Safely at L.A. Airport (AP) As someone who absolutely hates to fly, tonight’s emergency landing of JetBlue’s flight 292 put visions in my head of a best-case scenario in which the front landing gear buckles and the plane skids uncontrollably in some life-threatening scenario. Instead, the pilot of this flight utilized 95 [...]

There’s really no way to make this a judgeable contest, but I thought it would be interesting to post on the phenomenon of good bad-movies — that is, movies that are bad, but that you liked and have seen multiple times. My two examples that come to mind: The Replacements: yeah, Keanu Reeves couldn’t act [...]

I just watched the final episode of Tommy Lee Goes to College and two things struck me: in the end he didn’t do all that well (one B, a C+ and an F), but in his meetings with his professors as well as with UNL’s chancellor, he always was respectful and deferential in addressing them [...]

Today the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter, asked the likely future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: “Would you think that Roe might be a super-duper precedent in light of in light of 38 occasions to overrule it?” If you need any more proof that the lunatics have taken over the asylum, [...]

In a country where more people get their news from Entertainment Tonight than any other source, this is a valid headline: Lance Armstrong Engaged to Sheryl Crow (Reuters) On my “My Yahoo” page Reuters is running this story second in the categories of Top Stories and US National News. Could anything be more trite and [...]

Chief Justice William Rehnquist died a few hours ago. US Chief Justice Rehnquist Dies From Cancer Rehnquist, the 16th chief justice of the United States, “died this evening at his home in Arlington, Virginia, surrounded by his three children,” the court said in a statement Saturday. This is the second paragraph from a report that [...]

GOP Senator Says Iraq Looking Like Vietnam (AP) WASHINGTON (AP) — A leading Republican senator and prospective presidential candidate said Sunday that the war in Iraq has destabilized the Middle East and is looking more like the Vietnam conflict from a generation ago. Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, who received two Purple Hearts and other military [...]

Laurence Simon suggests we completely give in to Cindy Sheehan’s demand to meet with the president: Let Cindy Sheehan Meet the President [read the whole post or his message will be lost on you] h/t: Jay Tea

Vernon Wormer, former dean of students at Faber College, once said that “fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life.” He may have been mistaken: Playgirl’s Hunks? The Hairy, Chubby & Poor (NY Daily News) Forget waxed chests and rock-hard abs. A new survey finds ladies like their men scruffy, a wee [...]

In Roger Ebert’s most hated films of all time, he includes the following: Tommy Boy is one of those movies that plays like an explosion down at the screenplay factory. You can almost picture a bewildered office boy, his face smudged with soot, wandering through the ruins and rescuing pages at random. Too bad they [...]

Last night I caught an interview with Cindy Sheehan on Hardball with Chris Matthews, and I have to say that for the most part I forgive this grieving mother for the contradictions and stupidity of her statements. Why? To be brutally honest, it’s clear that this isn’t the most intelligent woman in the world. Thus [...]

The man who in eight years as chief executive did nothing except sexually assault female employees now claims that he would have attacked Afghanistan had he only known that al-Qaeda was responsible for the USS Cole bombing. Clinton: I Would Have Attacked Bin Laden (NewsMax) Ex-president Bill Clinton now says he would have taken out [...]

In what has to be the most cynical and dishonest editorial I’ve ever read in their paper, the editors of the Washington Post offer this gem: Big-Government Conservatives [...] Back in 1987, when Mr. Reagan applied his veto to what was generally known at the time as the highway and mass transit bill, he was [...]

Books? I’ve Never Read One, Says Posh (Daily Mail) Victoria Beckham has her name on the cover of one autobiography while her husband has brought out two. But the former Spice Girl claims she has never actually read a book. She told a Spanish journalist that she prefers magazines and music. “I haven’t read a [...]

I’m not sure why, but the National Weather Service is hosting this animated gif: h/t: Cynical-C

Is this really necessary?

The recent decision by the NCAA to ban the display of offensive mascots during postseason tournaments seemed to me just another case of political correctness gone awry. After all, names like Warriors or Braves are meant to connote strength and courage, and the Seminole tribe has actually come out in favor of Florida State. It [...]

Erotic and Violent Images Cloud Vision, Study Finds When people see violent or erotic images, they fail to process whatever they see next, according to new research.

Ok, I’m about two months late in discovering this, but if you’re a gmail user and didn’t know that Google now offers a personalized home page, read on. Otherwise there’s nothing to see here.

Rogers Launches Cellphone for Kids Rogers Wireless Inc. has become the first Canadian mobile phone provider to introduce a cellphone designed specifically for children as young as eight. The Canadian launch of the brightly coloured Firefly phone, which costs as much as $149.99 and is being touted as a way for parents to keep in [...]

In an article on ideology and grading in universities, Kaitlin Bell of the Boston Globe writes the following: Earlier this year, Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., reneged on a speaking invitation to University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill because he had published an article blaming America for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and comparing [...]

Jurors: Death Row Inmate Not Retarded (AP) YORKTOWN, Va. – A death row inmate whose case led to the Supreme Court’s ban on executing the mentally retarded was found mentally competent by a Virginia jury Friday. A judge immediately scheduled his execution for December. Basically, Daryl Atkins was convicted of murder but had his death [...]

Iacocca Teams With Snoop Dogg in New Ads (WaPo via Drudge) Former Chrysler Corp. chairman Lee Iacocca and Snoop Dogg appear together in Chrysler Group’s latest ads for its employee-pricing program, a duo guaranteed to raise some eyebrows. The 80-year-old Iacocca and Snoop Dogg, who made his name rapping about sex and marijuana, appear as [...]

Inmates Complain After 5 Turkey Dinners (AP) COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Five straight turkey dinners prompted El Paso County jail inmates to go on a brief hunger strike. The inmates refused to eat Saturday, arguing that meals such as turkey chili mac, turkey a la king, turkey stew and turkey sausage were unnecessarily cruel. Dick [...]

Vacationing Bush Poised to Set a Record Deck: “With Long Sojourn at Ranch, President on His Way to Surpassing Reagan’s Total” WACO, Tex., Aug. 2 — President Bush is getting the kind of break most Americans can only dream of — nearly five weeks away from the office, loaded with vacation time. The president departed [...]

From Fox News Sunday: The open-ended question for us clearly is what are his views about some of the basic values, the equal protection clause, the privacy clause of the Constitution. h/t: Patterico.

Bush Exercises 6X a Week; “Most-Fit” President in History (Drudge) President Bush turned 59 years old this month and his health is in the “superior” fitness category for men his age — greater than 99% percentile for 55-59 year-old men! The latest health results make Bush the “most-fit” president in modern history. He has not [...]

Question: is it just me or is Lawrence O’Donnell one seriously arrogant SOB?

These Soldiers Say “Over There” is “Bogus” (Seattle PI) “Bogus” was the preferred adjective among the eight soldiers — most of them Iraq vets — viewing the series pilot last week at Camp Murray, headquarters of the Washington State National Guard in Tacoma. “Thank God that’s over,” said a master sergeant as the credits rolled. [...]

From lawblogger Patterico comes this gem: “The president and his right-wing Supreme Court think it is ‘okay’ to have the government take your house if they feel like putting a hotel where your house is,” Dean said, not mentioning that until he nominated John Roberts to the Supreme Court this week, Bush had not appointed [...]

Muslim Group in Britain Decries “Hate” (Washington Times) LONDON — Leaders of a key Muslim organization in Britain, angered by the deadly terror attacks in London, yesterday told tens of thousands of followers that “enough is enough” and urged all Muslims to turn away from “harbingers of hate.” “The word ‘Islam’ means peace,” said Rafiq [...]

Income Gap Grows in U.S. (Washington Times) Incomes are growing smartly for the first time in years, spurring unexpectedly robust spending by consumers. The revival, however, is mainly among top earners who receive stocks, bonuses and other income in addition to wages. The nearly 80 percent of Americans who rely mostly on hourly wages barely [...]

The recent House passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) got me thinking: where is there any evidence that free trade agreements are good for America? Obviously a loaded question, its answer based on what you believe America needs. Clearly in the 25 or so years since Keynesian (state-led) development was replaced by [...]

British Army Launches Base Cutbacks (AP) BELFAST, Northern Ireland – The British army began closing or demolishing military installations in the Irish Republican Army’s rural heartland Friday in a rapid response to the IRA’s declaration to renounce violence and disarm. Soldiers started to dismantle or withdraw from three positions in South Armagh, a rebellious borderland [...]

By now you all know that the unemployed media poster-child Helen Thomas made the asinine statement that she’d kill herself if Vice President Dick Cheney runs for President in 2008 (yet there’s no anti-conservative bias in the media). However, blogger Steven Taylor suggests another tact, more likely to ensure the desired outcome: If Helen is [...]

IRA STATEMENT RELEASED: ARMED CAMPAIGN OVER Here’s a portion of today’s statement: The leadership of îglaigh na hÆ’ireann has formally ordered an end to the armed campaign. This will take effect from 4pm this afternoon. All IRA units have been ordered to dump arms. All Volunteers have been instructed to assist the development of purely [...]

Steve the Llamabutcher reminds us that yesterday would have been Mary Jo Kopechne’s 65th birthday, had Diamond Joe Quimby Senator Ted Kennedy not put his political ambitions over his duty as a human being. Am I the only one who takes offense at the fact that Senator Kennedy currently walks his dog “Splash” around the [...]

AG: High Court Not Bound by Roe v. Wade (AP) WASHINGTON – The legal right to abortion is settled for lower courts, but the Supreme Court “is not obliged to follow” the Roe v. Wade precedent, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday as the Senate prepared to consider John Roberts’ appointment that would put a [...]

Ok, not exactly outlaw it … Oregon prescription policy may set meth law precedent (USAT) Oregonians who want over-the-counter cold medicine soon may need a doctor’s permission to buy it. Trying to stem the abuse of methamphetamine, the Oregon Senate will likely vote next week on a bill that would make the state the nation’s [...]

Debra Saunders: Blame Blair or Bush, Not the Bombers At a press conference Thursday, journalists asked Blair and visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard if they felt responsible for actions — sending troops to aid in U.S.-led military efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq — that put Brits and Aussies in peril’s way. “Do you feel [...]

AP: 4 Unions to Boycott AFL-CIO Meeting CHICAGO – Four major unions decided Sunday to boycott the AFL-CIO convention, setting the stage for one or more to bolt from the 50-year-old federation in a battle over how to reverse organized labor’s decades-long decline, The Associated Press has learned. The unions, representing about one-third of the [...]

Armstrong Ends Career With 7th Tour Win (AP) One hand on his handlebars, the other holding a flute of champagne, Armstrong toasted his teammates as he pedaled into Paris to collect his crown. He held up seven fingers — one for each win — and a piece of paper with the number 7 on it. [...]

Armstrong All but Guarantees Tour Win (AP) SAINT-ETIENNE, France – As if Lance Armstrong had anything left to prove, as if his crowning achievement really needed an emphatic stamp, cycling’s greatest champion gave his best performance Saturday — claiming the stage win he lacked and all but guaranteeing a seventh consecutive Tour de France victory. [...]

A restaurateur in the Great White North has decided to cut out the middle-man and simply put beer in the pizza: Like ham and eggs or salt and pepper, pizza and beer have always been a popular combination. However, Diana Coutu, who co-owns Diana’s Gourmet Pizzeria in Winnipeg, along with her husband, Pierre Coutu, decided [...]

All day Drudge has been running a link to a story that claims that serial-moron Paul Begala believes that Republicans want to kill him. While it’s pretty clear that the quote is taken out of context (he seems to be saying that terrorists want to kill us all), what’s more troubling are the asinine statements [...]

Or, as the AP spins it: Muslim Scholars Condemn London Attack LONDON – Muslim leaders and scholars condemned the London bombings Friday but stopped short of criticizing all suicide attacks, with some of them saying those targeting occupying forces are sometimes justified. The 22 imams and scholars meeting at London’s largest mosque said in a [...]

Oh Lord, this will mean more Mercs for jerks “Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes-Benz,” prayed Janis Joplin, and the Lord obliged. … Today, though, there is one man who is doing more than the Lord himself to buy a Mercedes-Benz for the leading creeps of the world. That man is, of course, [...]

Boy, 11, stabbed baby whose crying spoiled his PlayStation game An 11-year-old boy stabbed his baby nephew in the stomach after the infant’s crying disrupted his PlayStation game. [...] He paused the game and went to get a kitchen knife to repair a toy. Then he went into the baby’s bedroom and stabbed him in [...]

For those looking for up-to-date and first-hand accounts of the events in London, you may want to check out the The UKBlogs Aggregator.

Man Charged With Stealing Wi-Fi Signal (AP) ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Police have arrested a man for using someone else’s wireless Internet network in one of the first criminal cases involving this fairly common practice. Benjamin Smith III, 41, faces a pretrial hearing this month following his April arrest on charges of unauthorized access to [...]