About
Captain Ed is a father and grandfather living in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, a native Californian who moved to the North Star State because of the weather. He lives with his wife Marcia, also known as the First Mate, their two dogs, and frequently watch their granddaughter Kayla, whom Captain Ed calls The Little Admiral.
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The Crows Nest
Rule 1: Drag The Corpse On Over First
If I've learned anything in four years of blogging, don't try to be out in front of the death rumors, especially with the villains of the world. Saddam died a hundred deaths before we caught him alive in his spider hole, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi almost as many before his demise last year. Osama may or may not be alive, but everyone's avoided speculating on his fate for a while now. Maybe Val at Babalu Blog will get luckier with his "Castro Is Dead" story. We all hope so. I'll wait for the announcement ....
Hobbs Choice
Volunteer Voters is holding its annual "Best of Nashville" on-line polls, and one of the categories is for the best political writer. Our friend Bill Hobbs, now posting at Newsbusters, and he'd like his on-line fans to cast their votes. Drop by and put one in for Bill if you get a chance!
Murtha Getting Backlogged On Apologies
Gary Gross of Let Freedom Ring sees another case collapsing on the Haditha charges. He's called for Murtha to apologize earlier, and adds another reason to the tally.
No Such Thing As 'Moderate' Islam?
Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan told a television interviewer that he finds the label "moderate Islam" offensive. Shrink Wrapped has a lot more on this, but at least in the same interview Erdogan acknowledged that "radical Islam" exists, and that it's been a catastrophe. Be sure to read the whole post.
MS-NBC Gets Punk'd
Power Line has a great post on a lack of journalistic effort on the part of MS-NBC. In covering the Michael Vick story, they reported on what they thought was Al Sharpton's website proclaiming Vick's innocence. I guess Alex Johnson and two other MS-NBC reporters couldn't bother to read the title bar of the site, which proudly proclaims it as a "parody site".
New Instapundit Podcast On Pharmaceuticals
I just caught this e-mail from Glenn Reynolds about his new podcast with Richard Epstein, the author of Overdose: How Excessive Government Regulation Stifles Pharmaceutical Innovation. Haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but the topic is important enough to make sure I carve out time for it tomorrow. Get their first and tell me what I'm missing ....
Fed Trying A 'Stealth Easing'?
The Federal Reserve seems to have conducted a quiet campaign to steady markets that started spinning out of control, according to King Banaian at SCSU Scholars. He thinks that the Fed has conducted a "stealth easing". Be sure to read his explanation and follow his lnks.
A Shameless Bit Of Sel-Promotion
Gateway Pundit and Val at Babalu Blog note a crass PR move by Hugo Chavez. Venezuela has responded to Peru's eathquake disaster with food shipments -- and with Hugo's smiling picture on the cans. He also uses the tuna-can label to undermine President Garcia of Peru, who narrowly defeated Chavez' pal Ollanto Humalla, whom the labels extol for his "solidarity" with Chavez.
Tacky beyond belief.
Bush Going After Palestinian Terror Financing?
George Bush's new orders to USAID forces them to review the executive management of all NGOs to ensure that they have no terrorist connections. Carl in Jerusalem says at Israel Matzav that the order specifically intends to target Palestinian front groups for terrorists. Let's hope he's right.
Slow Start!
Yes, I'm off to a slow start today, thanks to some scripting issues, a bad back, and an alarm clock that needs replacing. Bear with me -- I'm ramping up, I promise...
And Now, In Little League Action Last Night ...
I once played in a Little League game where we lost, 30-1, obviously before mercy rules came into being. The only comfort during that shellacking was that 13-year-olds don't have to justify their salaries for being on the field. You have to wonder what the Baltimore Orioles have to feel without that caveat today, after losing 30-3 to the Texas Rangers. Sixteen of the runs came in the last two innings .... (via TMV)
Bush Speech On Iraq
I got a couple of e-mails wondering why I haven't linked to George Bush's speech today. I liked it; I just didn't have much to add. Rush Limbaugh covered it well on his site, and Power Line also links approvingly but has nothing much more to say. Michael Goldfarb notes that the Weekly Standard had made a similar argument regarding Vietnam a year ago.
Rove Fears Me -- No, Really!
Hot Air notes the latest fundraising letter from John Edwards. No longer content to indulge his paranoia when Ann Coulter mentions him, now he wants to indulge it when Karl Rove doesn't. Has any candidate seemed this desperate before now?
Racism Or Hard Truth?
Angela Winters looks at an editorial cartoon and the controvery it has caused in Jacksonville, Florida, especially in the black community. Truth or racism? When rap artists tell young listeners not to cooperate with the police, how much responsibility do they have for the victimization that follows? Read all of the essay at The Moderate Voice.
Support Citizen Journalism
Bill Ardolino at INDC Journal reminds us that there is a reporter shortage on the front lines. The best way to solve that problem? Donate to Public Multimedia, the citizen-journalist organization that supports Bill Roggio, Bill Ardolino, and others. (And a direct donation to Michael Yon would be much appreciated as well.)
Comments (5)
Posted by The Mechanical Eye![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| May 8, 2007 11:16 AM
As far as it can be observed, the left in Europe had nothing left to do or say and looked increasingly irrelevant in the face of that continent's challenges: an immigrant population at best apathetic to the host nation, rising debt, falling national prestige, and a sense of loss.
It sounds vaguely like our own nation, albeit in different degrees. The GOP would do well to mind it.
Du
Posted by Lightwave![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| May 8, 2007 12:08 PM
The socialist nanny state system cannot work. When you're paying upwards of 60% in taxes for services and have serious illegal immigration problems, the sheer volume of the actual workforce cannot sustain the dead weight.
The center-right revolution is somewhat too late in the EU countries. It's delayed the inevitable, but the fact of the matter is these changes were needed a generation ago.
And yes, unless we solve the immigration and Social Security/Medicare, we'll be in the same boat in ten years.
Posted by Rovin![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| May 8, 2007 12:11 PM
The Washington Post attempted to soft-pedal the loss of Segolene Royal and any comparisons to Hillary.
I wrote a piece about it today titled "Clinton / Royal ----- No Difference? " here:
http://rovinsworld.blogspot.com/2007/05/clinton-royal-no-difference.html
Posted by Carol_Herman![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| May 8, 2007 12:25 PM
Politics. A business as old as whoredom. And, you still learn something new every day.
Royal has looks. She comes from the party "that was" in power. And, she thought she could beat a Jew, hands down.
Let alone, all the bad press Sarkozy got. For being a villanous "despot." DIDN'T WORK. Now, did it?
Her "beating" was inflicted by Blue Collar workers; and WOMEN! She didn't do well, there.
Which shows ya something about Hillary, as well.
Here? It's probably the men who have caught on she'd be a disaster. While it's still out there ... Women aren't gonna give her the numbers. Especially IF there's an attractive oponent who uses SPEECH to get the angry mood (backlash), across.
Bush lost it. Because he hugs the bullshit "religion of piece and reducto." Was never there!
It's still possible, though, that Hillary isn't even in the pack? She's just there, now, as a doorstop to the clowns like Obama and Biden? Dunno.
Really don't know where there's ANY talent in DC!
Which is why Guiliani looks like the guy to beat.
To lose a political gamble; like the one Royal just did; means there were plenty of people who thought "she'd do well" with women. Didn't. And, she didn't do well, either, with "old people." Drudge is running a link to the numbers.
She did do well with the kids Those who turn 18. So, they can vote. (You don't even know if this is heavily weighted to the muzzies, or not.) But she LOST the next group. The 24-27 group. And, each one after that! But the biggest surprise? She lost the Blue Collar workers. A place where Ronald Reagan EARNED his comfort zone.
Some things in politics come around, again and again. People spout off that they're "just like Reagan." And, they haven't got a clue.
Guiliani? OUTSIDER to DC. But with experience under his belt. What kind? Of having the press pushing up against him. And, it's there that he excels.
I still think Fred Thompson is going nowhere.
But the contests aren't interesting IF there's "no competition" in the pool.
Sometimes? Ya just have to discount the pundits, and think for yourselves.
Posted by HA![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| May 9, 2007 5:41 AM
Dionne's article is inadvertently revealing. It shows that the American left's first allegiance is to its internnationalist socialist comrades, not to America.