This video combines pictures from last year’s 9/12 Tea Party in Washington, DC with Twisted Sister’s We’re Not Gonna Take It, which has become somewhat of an anthem for the Tea Party movement. I was there, but do not show up in any of the pics. Created by the YouTube user Normn8or, and brought to you via Political Pistachio. (Hmmm, I wonder what lead singer Dee Snider thinks of this.)

UPDATE by Duncan:

DANG IT TO HECK!!!

An “important Taliban militant” was arrested today in Pakistan. But that is where the confusion started.

Earlier it was reported by Pakistani media that intelligence agents had arrested Adam Gadahn, the American-born spokesman for al Qaeda, in an operation in the southern city of Karachi.

It was further reported by the Associated Press and Reuters that Gadahn had been arrested, sourcing security officials.

CBS News was told by sources in the Pakistan government that it was Gadahn, even after U.S. officials refused to confirm it was the California native for whom a $1 million reward has been posted.

Now, CBS News’ Farhan Bokhari in Islamabad writes that earlier reports the detained individual was Gadahn proved false. According to a Pakistan security official who spoke with CBS News on condition of anonymity, the arrested individual is in fact “a Taliban militant leader who is known as Abu Yahya.”

As some over at Ace’s place said:

There’s been so many stops and starts with this guy, who knows. On the upside, if it’s not him that means he’s still available for a special Hellfire missile delivery via a Predator drone.

ORIGINAL POST BELOW:

Considering that accurate information from remote areas of Pakistan can be hard to come by, I’m not quite yet ready to celebrate, but if this turns out to be correct, it will certainly be an occasion for downing some adult beverages. And yes, I will give the Obama administration credit where it’s due, even if all they did was to get the Pakistani authorities to cooperate. From the NY Daily News:

Adam Gadahn, the treasonous Californian Al Qaeda leader who has long been on Washington’s Most Wanted list, was nabbed in Pakistan Sunday – a huge victory in the battle against the terror network.

After some confusion in the intial reports, the Associated Press quoted Pakistani officials confirming the arrest of Osama bin Laden’s mouthpiece.

Gadahn was born in Oregon to Jewish parents who had converted to Christianity. His father changed the family name from “Pearlman” to “Gadahn”. They would raise their son in California, before he converted to Islam and moved to Pakistan. He joined Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and would become one of their main propogandists, appearing in numerous videos under the name of “Azzam al-Amriki” (“Azzam the American”). He has been on the FBI’s list of Most Wanted Terrorists. In 2006, he became the first American to be charged with treason since World War II.

I once read about someone saying that her favorite day of the year was March 4th, because it’s a complete sentence. Technically, that’s not true, since the sentence is “March forth!” and the date is “March fourth”. But for what it’s worth, they sound the same. In history, March fourth was America’s original Inauguration Day, before being changed by the 20th Amendment, and was the birthday of Venetian composer Antonio Vivaldi. So without further ado, I give you the news on or around March fourth.

PETA has decided to forgo their plans for a billboard depicting Tiger Woods.

How much of a chance does this have of passing? Congressmen Jeb Hensarling and Mike Pence propose an amendment to limit spending to 20% of GDP.

If you’re a car nut, but also would like to consider yourself “green”, you might like this. Ferrari has unveiled a hybrid auto.

In the Netherlands, a pilot who was not licensed for passenger flights was arrested just before takeoff.

Students protesting cutbacks in Davis, California got close to blocking an interstate highway. (H/T CDC Journal)

Earlier this evening, two police officers were shot at the main entrance of the Pentagon.

From Atlas Shrugs: In San Francisco, three muslims have been charged with shooting a gay man in the face with a BB gun.

From A Catholic View: Maryland Catholic Conference backs state plan to fund adult stem cell research. Historically, Maryland was founded to provide a refuge for Catholics who were mistreated in England.

Because of falling real estate values, spouses facing divorce are now telling each other “No, you take the House.”

From the Weekly Standard: Is Obama offering a congressman’s brother a position as judge in exchange for his vote on health care?

From Yahoo News: The Chilean quake’s effects on the earth include shortening its rotation period.

Yet more geologic activity. Fox News reports a 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan.

Or actually, a lot of tanks. More precisely, about 200 Russian T-72 and T-80 tanks apparently abandoned in a forest near Yekaterinburg.

“There are tanks all over the forest, abandoned,” an unnamed reporter on the video says. “If you need one, come and get it.”

On the other hand, at least one person says that they are not abandoned.

A military spokesman claimed the tanks were in fact being guarded by special patrols and were in the process of being dispatched to a military base. But military prosecutors appeared sceptical about his claims and opened an official investigation.

So, are they abandoned or not? Seems like it might depend on whom you talk to. But if they are, I have another question. Can we bring one back for Michael Dukakis?

This morning at 3:34 am local time, a magnitude-8.8 earthquake occured about 70 miles northeast of Concepcion, Chile, the country’s second largest city. It was the largest earthquake to hit Chile in fifty years. The death toll, according to President-elect Sebastian Pinera, is 122, but the number is expected to rise.

Reuters reports that:

Buildings caught fire, major highway bridges collapsed and wide cracks opened up in streets. A 15-storey building collapsed in the city of Concepcion, near the epicenter, and overturned cars lay scattered below a fallen overpass in the capital.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, President Obama and leaders of both parties had a “health care summit”. Reaction from the right includes the following: According to ARRA, the GOP had a good day at the summit. Jonah Goldberg at National Review pretty much agrees, but also says that the summit was incredibly boring. My Auburn instead focuses on Obama, claiming that for him it was a failure.

From CNS News, Obama’s four appointees to the “Debt Panel” include Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union.

According to Hugh Hewitt, Democrats say that Obama’s problem is gridlock, not his policies.

From Okie Campaigns, a board member of CAIR has been deported for supporting Hamas.

From Gateway Pundit, Van Jones isn’t just a truther and a communist, but was also a supporter of Saddam Hussein.

From CNN, a magnitude 7 earthquake has struck east of Okinawa.

From Infinite Unknown, New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg thinks that the U.S. will undergo an economic meltdown in 5 to 7 years.

Speaking of economic meltdowns, billionaire financier Jim Rogers predicts that the British Pound will collapse.

Some Brits are taking a cue from us Yanks, and have launched a Tea Party movement.

Meanwhile, HotAir reports that back on our side of the pond, lefties who disagree with the Tea Party have launched the Coffee Party.

i dunno, I am impressed. Glenn doesn’t always come across the right way in his delivery, but this impassioned speech was pretty darn good IMHO….

I’m on a Thomas Paine kick right now…. reading “Common Sense” and “Rights of Man” currently…

“If, from the more wretched parts of the old world, we look at those which are in an advanced stage of improvement, we still find the greedy hand of government thrusting itself into every corner and crevice of industry, and grasping the spoil of the multitude. Invention is continually exercised, to furnish new pretenses for revenues and taxation. It watches prosperity as its prey and permits none to escape without tribute. ~Thomas Paine, Rights of Man

Retired 4-star General Alexander Haig, who served in the administrations of three presidents, has died at age 85, from complications from an infection, at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD.

A graduate of West Point, Haig served on the staff of General Douglas MacArthur, before seeing combat duty in Korea, and later in Vietnam. During his military career, he also served as the Commander of the Third Regiment of the Corps of Cadets at West Point and as the Commander of NATO forces in Europe.

In the Nixon administration, Haig served as Military Assistant to the Presidential Assistant for National Security Affairs (the Presidential Assistant being Henry Kissinger), Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, and White House Chief of Staff. He briefly remained in this last position under President Ford after the Nixon resignation. He was appointed Secretary of State by President Reagan in January, 1981. He often clashed with Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and National Security Advisor William Clark, and decided to resign after only 17 months.

In his later years, Haig hosted the television programs World Business Review and 21st Century Business. He served on the boards of various institutions, including the founding board of America Online. In 1992, he published his memoir Inner Circles: How America Changed the World. He is survived by his wife Patricia, their three children, and his brother, who is a Jesuit priest.

Source: Yahoo News
Source: TMCnet
Source: Wikipedia

Happy Valentine’s Day and (for tomorrow) President’s Day. As I listen to the icicles fall from my house, here’s what’s going on at home and abroad.

The U.S. Coast Guard conducts a humanitarian mission at an orphanage in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti.

A song to teach your children geography: Fifty Nifty United States. (What, not 57? )

The snows of February have collapsed the Blacksburg (VA) High School gym. Blacksburg is also the location of my alma mater, Virginia Tech.

Thank A Soldier’s Blog launches The Gratitude Project.

Road rage in Texas leads to a police chase – and a bomb investigation.

From The Long War Journal, U.S. unmanned strike aircraft attack a Taliban training camp in North Waziristan.

As U.S. troops fight their way into the Taliban stronghold of Marjah, some say the fighting is as intense as in Falluhah, Iraq. I certainly have respect for anyone who fought in both of those battles. More on the fighting in Marjah from Holger Awakens.

Some climate scientists, including former IPCC author John Christy, have doubts about global warming because of problems with the underlying data collection.

Why does the Tea Party movement exist? Glenn Reynolds explains. (H/T Blogs For Victory)

From The American Thinker, Adam Shaw faults Secretary of State Clinton for generalizing about “organized religion”.

At a surfing event in Half Moon Bay, California, two huge waves sweep away spectators standing on a seawall.

D’OH! A “tagger” tries to put graphiti on a door in an aquatic center in Commerce, California. On the other side of said door are 100 Los Angeles County cops.