Ten Years Later, Teacher Finally Gets to Shave Off His "Bin Laden Beard"

Man, this guy is a hardcore American patriot.

This puts your little Stanley Cup playoff beard to shame. Although I'm not sure I could tolerate that thing on my face for an entire decade.

It looks kinda itchy.

Ephrata Middle School teacher Gary Weddle went 3,454 days—nearly 10 years—without shaving his beard. That is until Sunday, when it was announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed by U.S. Forces in Pakistan. Weddle finally shaved his beard on Monday.

After watching the events of September 11, 2001 unfold on live television, Weddle vowed not to shave his beard until bin Laden had been captured or killed. At the time Weddle was a substitute teacher, who spent days watching coverage of the attacks on television.

Weddle hoped he would teach his science students a lesson about solidarity and standing in support of the United States Military and American freedoms.

Nearly 10 years later, Ephrata Middle School Principal, Jill Palmquist, honored Weddle in a school assembly Monday, for doing just that.

"Thank you for your dedication, steadfastness and determination to follow through," Palmquist said. "You are among the most dedicated, faithful and patriotic Americans we will ever have the privilege of saying that we knew."

h/t: @brittneyboop.

Cross-posted.

Barney Frank Freaks Out Over Eric Cantor Singing the Praises of Bush

The ugly, angry left has spent the better part of the past 24 hours doing a victory lap over the killing of Osama bin Laden, as summarized nicely here. We've come to expect this. These are the same people who derided George W. Bush for reading to kids during the attacks on 9/11. So they tried to score cheap political points on 9/11 and then again they day bin Laden died. None of this comes as any surprise. These are vicious, ugly people, so expect nothing less.

So we have to wonder what planet Barney Frank is living on when he freaks out over Eric Cantor paying proper homage to George W. Bush on the day when it's revealed the interrogation tactics he put in place helped eventually lead to bin Laden's whereabouts.

I guess Frank instead expected Cantor to get on his knees and bow before Obama?

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) accused House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) of injecting partisanship Monday into his reaction to news of Osama bin Laden's death.

Frank, a senior Democrat with a signature blunt style, said that Cantor had adopted a partisan tone when, in a statement congratulating President Obama on the death of bin Laden, the second-ranking House Republican said Obama had "followed the vigilance of President Bush in bringing Bin Laden to justice."

"Let’s give discredit where it is due," Frank told the liberal blog ThinkProgress. "For Eric Cantor to phrase it that way, to say [Obama] followed the vigilance of President Bush is a degree of key partisanship that exceeded what I even expected from Cantor. That’s just sad."

Cantor's statement wasn't much different from those made by other Republicans on Monday. Many GOP lawmakers took care to both congratulate and praise Obama and former President George W. Bush for the successful assassination of bin Laden.

The Virginia Republican echoed that sentiment Monday afternoon on Capitol Hill.

"Nearly 10 years ago, President Bush stood before the nation after 9/11 and pledged to the American people that we will not tire, we will not falter and we will not fail in our quest to defeat those who intend to do us harm through acts of terror," he said alongside other GOP leaders. "Last night, we heard President Obama tell a very changed nation that we did not fail."

Republicans say they're not the only one injecting politics into the situation; they say Frank's statement itself politicizes the debate, and that he and Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.), who each issued politically-tinged statements claiming credit for Obama, should recognize Bush's role in bin Laden's capture, as Republicans have.

The Final Word: Bin Laden Recently Made Propaganda Recording

Cindy Sheehan will be impressed. Let's just say this will be the last we heard from Osama bin Laden.

U.S. intelligence officials believe Osama bin Laden made a propaganda recording shortly before his death and expect that tape to surface soon.

It's unclear whether the tape is audio or video, but a U.S. official says that intelligence indicates it's already working its way through al-Qaida's media pipeline. The official said the timing was coincidental and there's no indication he knew U.S. forces were bearing down on him.

Small comfort for the conspiracists.

A new recording from bin Laden would provide a final word from the beyond grave for a terrorist who taunted the U.S. with recorded propaganda for years. It could also provide fodder to those who insist he is still alive.

Meanwhile, we may be planning to look into Pakistan's role in helping hide bin Laden. Obama's recently been all gung-ho into ending subsidies to oil companies. How about we end subsides to Pakistan while we're at it?

Sean Penn Shows His Patriotic Side

Did I say patriotic? Sorry. It's Sean Penn we're talking about, after all.

They say Washington, DC, is "Hollywood for ugly people," but the Beltway got a major infusion of good looks Saturday night at the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner. Staid Washingtonians also got a dose of Hollywood-style drama.

Sean Penn caused a stir right off the bat when he wouldn't follow everyone else in putting his hand over his heart as the room stood and sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Hilton International Ballroom. The surly star then spent dinner all over new flame Scarlett Johansson. "She plopped down in his lap, and they were kissing," described a shocked witness. The two left the room for "an hour," sources said, and Penn came back to the table with his tie askew.

I'll chalk up Johansson's stupidity to being young and naive. Let's just hope she's got the common sense to flee the first time he punches her in the face.

Scott Brown Being Sent to Afghanistan

This would be highly unusual for a sitting United States Senator to be deployed to a war zone if indeed that is the purpose.

Senator Scott Brown said this morning that he is being sent to Afghanistan, but the member of the Massachusetts National Guard would not say if he is being formally deployed.

“I will put out a statement later about my involvement," Brown told The Boston Globe during a brief telephone interview. "I’m going to be going over at some point to do some missions.”

Asked if he were being deployed, the Army lieutenant colonel said, "I didn't say that."

Brown was elected to the US Senate in January 2010 to replace the late Edward M. Kennedy. The Republican is up for reelection next year, when he will be seeking his first full six-year term.

H/T Spitfire Murphy.

Chinese Bloggers Mourn Loss of "Hero"

Aw, poor babies.

[Rubs thumb and index finger together].

That's me playing the World's Smallest Violin for them.

In the hours immediately following U.S. President Barack Obama’s announcement that Osama bin Laden had been killed, Chinese Internet users appeared torn over how to react to the news.

While some celebrated, many others mourned the loss of a “hero.” Still others seized on the terrorist mastermind’s death as an opportunity to offer veiled comment on conditions at home.

Rumors of Mr. bin Laden’s death began to spread on Sina Weibo, China’s most active microblogging service, at least an hour before Mr. Obama’s speech, with messages of shock and disbelief giving way, in many cases, to expressions of regret at the Al Qaeda founder’s passing.

“Deeply mourning Bin Laden,” wrote Weibo user Jiajia Nuwu in comments echoed widely across the site. “Yet another anti-American hero is lost.”

What, is there a shortage of anti-American heroes out there? We do still have Bill Ayers, Julian Assange, and Michael Moore, ya know.

Not to mention the MSNBC prime-time lineup.

Oh well. At least some of our Chinese friends are glad to see bin Laden go - even if they do have a funny way of expressing their joy.

“Is this real? Excellent!” wrote another. “Now the only terrorist left is the United States!”

Cross-posted.

54 Democrat Congress Critters Who Stand in Support of the Muslim Brotherhood

The reaction in the Islamic world to the death of Usama bin Laden for the most part is exactly what one should expect from folks who get their panties in a wad over cartoons and book burnings. What should be eye opening is that we have members of our congress who stand in support of them along with members of our Homeland Security.

The Muslim Brotherhood has come out to express outrage at the killing of a mass murderer.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, a conservative organization with links around the Islamic world, has condemned the killing of Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden by U.S. forces as an "assassination."

Or at least they have in the past.

Last month, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and her senior staff privately met in Washington, D.C., with a select group of Muslim, Arab, and Sikh organizations. Among the mix were three organizations directly associated with an outlawed terrorist entity — the Muslim Brotherhood.

Secretary Napolitano spent an hour and a half briefing them on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) counter-radicalization and anti-terrorist programs. The intensive briefings spanned two days (January 27 and 28) and were called by the DHS.

The Muslim Brotherhood has even been so bold as to demand that congress schedule a session to allow them to make their case that they are just warm fuzzy teddy bears.

Tuesday, April 19,2011 16:06 IkhwanWeb Dr. Mohamed Morsy, media spokesman and member of the Executive Bureau of the Muslim Brotherhood(MB) demanded that US Congress hold a special session to hear directly from the MB about their programs as Congress held a session recently with the MB.

Oh the 54 congress critters in the title? They are the ones who signed a letter in support of the Free Gaza organization which is a Hamas operated propaganda effort which is in turn supported by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Musharraf: I Would Not Have Allowed US Operation

What a sniveling little piece of shit this guy is. Hey, asshole, if we kept your countrymen in the loop the scumbag bin Laden would still be alive. Excuse my harsh language but it's people like this who prevented us from getting bin Laden all these years.

Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on Monday said the United States had violated Pakistan’s sovereignty by sending in Special Forces to kill Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

US President Barack Obama had ordered the raid by a small team of US Special Forces, which found Laden, who had evaded capture for a decade, in a home in a fortified compound in Abbottabad city, located 50 kilometres northeast of Islamabad and 150 kilometres east of Peshawar.

“America coming to our territory and taking action is a violation of our sovereignty. Handling and execution of the operation (by US forces) is not correct. The Pakistani government should have been kept in the loop,” Musharraf told an Indian news channel.

Yes, I'm sure if we tipped them off nobody would have said a word, right?

Info From Club Gitmo Detainees Eventually Led to bin Laden Killing

For all the caterwauling over the years about "harsh" interrogation techniques at Guantanamo Bay, it must pain the New York Times to acknowledge that information obtained there eventually led us to Osama bin Laden.

Detainees at the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, had given the courier’s pseudonym to American interrogators and said that the man was a protégé of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the confessed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.

American intelligence officials said Sunday night that they finally learned the courier’s real name four years ago, but that it took another two years for them to learn the general region where he operated.

Still, it was not until August when they tracked him to the compound in Abbottabad, a medium-sized city about an hour’s drive north of Islamabad, the capital.

C.I.A. analysts spent the next several weeks examining satellite photos and intelligence reports to determine who might be living at the compound, and a senior administration official said that by September the C.I.A. had determined there was a “strong possibility” that Bin Laden himself was hiding there.

It was hardly the spartan cave in the mountains where many had envisioned Bin Laden to be hiding. Rather, it was a mansion on the outskirts of the town’s center, set on an imposing hilltop and ringed by 12-foot-high concrete walls topped with barbed wire.

The property was valued at $1 million, but it had neither a telephone nor an Internet connection. Its residents were so concerned about security that they burned their trash rather putting it on the street for collection like their neighbors.

While the death of bin Laden came on Barack Obama's watch, let's not forget George W. Bush remained steadfast all those years while the left whined and moaned about Club Gitmo.

Awesome: Naval Academy Commander Speaks on bin Laden Death

This gives me chills. Makes you proud to be an American.

H/T.

Video: Inside the bin Laden Kill Site

From ABC News. That sounds like Osama's goat in mourning.

Daily Kos Poster Anguished Over bin Laden Death

Sometimes it's best to shut up that to expose yourself as a blithering idiot for the world to see.

I will make this brief:

I do not recall a single moment in my life when I felt it right to cheer for someone's death.

I'm not saying it's wrong to do so -- I just don't find myself able to relate to it. I can comprehend celebrating events which may involve someone's death (winning a war, conducting a raid which safely gets hostages home). I just don't connect with the idea of "we finally killed him. Let's go out and celebrate!"

And yeah, on a certain level, I get the mocking of Republicans because Bush didn't get Bin Laden and "we" did. I get the idea that people have focused all their attention on Bin Laden for nearly a decade now, so this may come as a welcome sign that things are moving in the right direction. Did he deserve to die? Probably. I don't know. I don't favor the death penalty; I never have, but that doesn't mean I don't understand why some do. I just don't feel like "deserve" means anything. Justice is not always about what people deserve.

Was it just for Bin Laden to die? Again, probably, but I can't claim to speak for justice. That's part of our law: we do not have monarchs, kings, emperors or gods to make sole decisions of justice. It is a collaborative process. Collectively, as a country, I think we do believe that, but that doesn't necessarily make it just.

But the man is dead, and not without reason, and while I think it was reasonable and expected that this day would come, there is no possible way I can find it in me to cheer about it.

Aw: Hamas Condemns Killing of bin Laden

Suck it, bitches.

The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Monday condemned the killing by U.S. forces of Osama bin Laden and mourned him as an "Arab holy warrior."

"We regard this as a continuation of the American policy based on oppression and the shedding of Muslim and Arab blood," Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip, told reporters.

Can we drop a bomb on this schmuck Haniyeh?

Usama Bin Laden is Dead But I Don't Feel Much Like Celebrating

Bin Laden is dead. That news flashed around the world last night, and while I did a fist pump in the air you won't find me in any of the crowds that spontaneously emerged and began celebrating.

No, to thousands of men and women in uniform today will be Monday. Indistinguishable from any other day of the week, save this day may be filled with even more danger then yesterday. They will put on their ballistic armor, do pre combat checks on their weapons, load up their ammo and food rations and once again go out and hunt down the Taliban and other terrorists.

Ayman Al-Zawahiri now moves to the top of the list. He has been the most influential leader of the Al-Queda group in the last couple of years. The battle continues.

I wish to congratulate the Navy SEALS who carried out the mission, which according to some reports was more then 6 months in the making. I hope this holds a special place in the heart of Marcus Luttrell, who's SEAL team was killed by the Taliban and their Al-Queda operatives and immortalized in his book Lone Survivor.

It wouldn't be long before both political parties decide on talking points and try to figure out how to use this to their advantage. In fact last night on Twitter a certain Fox News on air personality accused me of just that sort thing. I give him the benefit of the doubt since I wasn't sharing in the all the excitement of the announcement and was unwilling to give credit to any politician but rather insisted on giving credit to the men and women in uniform for the last 10 years who have sacrificed much to get this man. I will do a little gloating at his expense. I said the action occurred in Pakistan while he claimed it was Afghanistan. I was right before it was confirmed. I also gave him another hint about who carried out the action when I included him on a Tweet saying Marcus Luttrell and SEAL team Six now had their revenge long before that was revealed.

So I won't be celebrating much. Instead I will be remembering all those who sacrificed so much to get this man and do so with the realization that much more remains to be done. The world is still a deadly place. Only the faces have changed.

Bin Laden Dead

Bye bye, dickhead.

Osama bin Laden, hunted as the mastermind behind the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil, has been killed, President Obama announced tonight.

The president called the killing of bin Laden the "most significant achievement to date" in the effort to defeat al Qaeda.

"Justice has been done," Obama said.

Bin Laden was located at a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, which was monitored and when the time was determined to be right, the president said, he authorized a "targeted operation."

"A small team of Americans carried out the operation," Obama said. "After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body."

DNA testing confirmed that it was bin Laden, sources told ABC News.

Americans celebrate in New York.

This sums it up nicely.

Reuters carefully avoids calling him a terrorist.

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in a firefight with U.S. forces in Pakistan on Sunday, ending a nearly 10-year worldwide hunt for the mastermind of the September 11 attacks.

"Justice has been done," President Barack Obama declared in a hastily called, late-night White House speech announcing the death of the elusive head of the militant Islamic group behind a series of deadly bombings across the world.

Bin Laden's death is highly symbolic but it was unclear whether it would mark a turning point in the worldwide war against a highly fractured network of militants, or end any sooner the battle against the Taliban in Afghanistan

A source familiar with the U.S. operation said bin Laden was shot in the head. His death was confirmed separately by officials in Pakistan.

Jubilant, flag-waving celebrations erupted in Washington and New York. It was the biggest national security victory for Obama since he took office in early 2009 and could give him a political boost as he seeks re-election in 2012.

May Day Protesters Lash Out at Obama: 'Obama You Are Not Better Than Bush'

It appears the pitiful gathering in Los Angeles today wasn't an anomaly. Across the country the May Day protests largely lacked crowds, not to mention originality. Yet a common theme seems to have emerged. They don't much care for Barack Obama.

Demonstrators rallied at May Day events across the nation on Sunday, calling for reform on a host of issues and voicing frustration with President Barack Obama.

May Day events in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin were considerably smaller than in past years, as some of the hope for reform among Democrats that helped put Obama in the White House has faded.

Marchers in Chicago, where Obama cut his political teeth, expressed disappointment with aspects of his presidency, including his failure to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay.

"Obviously campaign promises and realities are completely different things," said Ricardo Ortiz, a student from DePaul University. "But do I think things could have been done better? Yes."

In New York, demonstrators called for immigration reform as well as support for environmental causes, tax reform and changes in U.S. defense policy.

Demonstrators carried signs reading "Legalization now, stop the deportations" and chanted "We are people, we are not illegal" as they marched down Broadway.

"Schools and hospitals are closing, jobs are being cut everywhere, and Wall Street guys are making money hand over fist," said Ronny Williams of New York City.

"And then Washington's spending billions on wars in places like Libya. Half the people I know are out of work," he said.

Some carried signs pairing Obama with former President George Bush. "Obama you are not better than Bush," read one sign.

Immigration reform was front and center in Chicago, where about 300 demonstrators gathered on the city's west side before marching downtown.

Three hundred people in Chicago? Pathetic.

Meanwhile, in Milwaukee, Obama economic adviser Richard Trumka was the main attraction. They also had a paltry gathering.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of demonstrators marched through downtown Milwaukee, calling for immigration reform and respect for workers' rights.

The march Sunday was part of a coordinated of May Day rallies across the nation.

They're looking very uncoordinated these days.

For his part, Obama showed solidarity with "the workers" by enjoying a round of golf today.

Don't Believe the Hype: LA Media Estimated 50K Would Show Up for May Day Rally, Event Draws Hundreds

Where'd they all go? This report said there would be 50,000 marching in Los Angeles.

An estimated 50,000 people are expected to march through downtown Los Angeles for immigration reform on Sunday, marking May Day.

The march and rally aim for full legalization. Two marches are scheduled with one starting at noon and the other at 12:30 p.m.

The message participants want to relay is for the government to create a path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented people already in the U.S.

Reality check:

There were American flags, union banners and vendors hawking treats such as ice cream and hot dogs wrapped in bacon.

But what was missing from this year's May Day march on a crystal-clear Sunday morning were the crowds.

By 10 a.m. only a few hundred immigrant rights and labor activists had gathered at Broadway and Olympic Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles to rally public support for legislation that would legalize the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants.

"It's really sad," Luis Ortiz, an ice cream vendor who has been coming to the rallies for the last 15 years, said of the small turnout. "I've sold very little, almost nothing."

The New Tone: California Democratic Party Chairman Urges Jerry Brown to Shoot Republicans

Imagine my surprise to discover there are actually some Republicans left in California.

John Burton, the state Democratic Party chairman, came under fire Friday for suggesting Gov. Jerry Brown "try shooting" a Republican to persuade them to vote for taxes.

In an interview with Bay Area News Group this week, Burton said Brown "can try shooting somebody and tell the next guy, 'You don't want that to happen to you, you better step up and vote.' "... What's Jerry going to do unless he took out a gun?"

The comment, made on the eve of the state party's convention kickoff, went over the line, said Mark Standriff, communications director for the state GOP.

"Is it open season on (Republicans) now?" Standriff wrote in a Twitter message.

"Having a salty reputation is no excuse for poor judgment," Standriff later said in an interview. "I'd ask him for an apology, but frankly all I'd expect in return was a well-directed expletive."

The California GOP, Standriff added, is making it "our mission to travel the state with open and civil discourse and we'd hope we'd get the same from the other side. To have this happen doesn't seem to be advancing civil discourse."

Conservative radio talk show host Eric Hogue asked in his own Twitter message: "Is this rhetoric unbecoming of a party chair?"

Sensitivity over violence-laden political remarks has come under scrutiny since the assassination attempt on U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat, that some believe was incited by heated political rhetoric.

Paul Krugman was unavailable for comment.

Bloomberg's Solution to Immigration: Make Newcomers Live in Detroit

Let's face it. If all new immigrants to America were compelled to live in Detroit, immigration likely would cease immediately. When I first saw the headline to this story I figured maybe Bloomberg was doing some shtick as the DC egofest last night. But he said this on "Meet the Press" this morning.

Mayor Bloomberg has a fix for the nation's immigration debate: Send 'em to Detroit.

"If I were the federal government," Bloomberg told David Gregory on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday morning. "Assuming you could wave a magic wand and pull everybody together, you pass a law letting immigrants come in as long as they agree to go to Detroit and live there for five or ten years."

Detroit has suffered a devastating population loss in recent decades, losing 25% of its citizens since the last census.

Meanwhile, immigrants are clamoring to enter the United States.

Bloomberg says he can fix both at once.

The immigrants would arrive in Detroit, "start businesses, take jobs whatever," Bloomberg said. "You would populate Detroit over night because half the world wants to come here ... You can use something like immigration policy - at no cost to the federal government - to fix a lot of the problems that we have."

I'm wondering where the genius thinks they'll be going after their five-to-ten year stretch in Motown?