Riehl World View

How America Is Like An Islamic Republic

In pondering the case of Gillian Gibbons, the teacher in Sudan sentenced to jail because of a teddy bear named Mohammad, ask yourself a question. What do you think would happen to a public school teacher in America who named a doll Jesus in a public school class project?

Yes, I know the problem would be with the secular side, but do you really think it would be allowed, or that the teacher wouldn't somehow be disciplined, or sentenced to sensitivity training?

Of course I'm not suggesting we are like an Islamic Republic, but I still find it ironic. Just a thought.

Okay, Now Rudy Has To Answer Some Questions

TPM has been going through some old financial records from Rudy's NYC administration. It's this letter that's troubling. His administration paid 400k in advance on an American Express account for future billings, which included his travel bills, already in the news.

Of the 400k, only 100k was spent while he was in office, 300k was refunded to NYC when he left. Whether he was trying to hide something or not is an open question. That this is just plain foolish when it comes to managing finances isn't.

I once worked for Amex. They make money on float. And they don't need loans to the tune of 400k in tax payer dollars to make a nice profit.

Updated and Bumped: Hostages At Clinton HQ

Update: 6:15 PM - Man in custody in street, situation seems to be over.

Update: 6:13 pm -- According to Fox, another hostage now being released.

Huh - this is a Mass. Legal preceding mentioning a Leeland Eisenberg in the case of an action against a lawyer: Isaiah Shalom.

31. At all times relevant to the petition for discipline, Leeland Eisenberg was an inmate in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections and was institutionalized at the DOC facility in Bridgewater (Ans. 35; Stip. 21). Eisenberg is not and was not a lawyer (Stip. 21).

Update: Apparently not all hostages were released. Another just was, that appears to leave one. Suspect is now ID'd as Leeland Eisenberg.  Allah is tracking, as well.

Charged with two counts of stalking in April.

7:51 p.m. --Leeland Eisenberg, 46, of Milton Road, 16, is charged with two counts of stalking.

Update: Hostages released?

Update: Hillary cancels DNC speech, reports claim the hostage taker wants to talk to Hillary.

The circus is in town. I hope this turns out to be a non-dangerous nut. More information here - two hostages, a forty-ish man with salt and pepper hair.

ROCHESTER, N.H. -- An armed man has taken people hostage at the Hillary Clinton campaign office in Rochester, police said.

It was not clear how many hostages there were or what weapons the man has. Police have set up a command post near the office on 28 North Main St.

Mitt Romney: Ladies Man?

While this latest Iowa Caucus poll doesn't change the horse race aspects as we know them to be, two things do stick out. Romney wins women and Independents fairly easily, two categories the Republican nominee will need to do well with, especially against Hillary, assuming she's the Dem nominee.

Among women, Huckabee is at 19%, Romney 43%, and Thompson 11%

Romney Independents 38%

Rush Said: Yeah, But So What?

Jim Geraghty picks up something from yesterday's Limbaugh show I heard as well:

There was one candidate who did not display any moderateness or liberalism or have any of his past forays into those areas displayed, and that candidate was Fred Thompson.

Great, I might not disagree, though I might also point out that conservative icon Ronald Reagan once signed an immigration amnesty deal and raised some taxes back in California. But there's a bigger issue here.

Fred peaked before he started actively campaigning. Given his name recognition, the man had every advantage when he entered the race - every advantage. And it's been squandered. Yeah, as things stand, that's the guy I want going up against the Clinton juggernaut come 2008.

Maybe Fred turns that around. But unless or until he does, we need someone who can run and win. And several of the other Top Tier candidates have given more than enough assurances on things like taxes, our borders and judicial appointments to make Rush's comments an interesting observation and not much more.

Howard Dean At It, Again

It would be nice if someone in the media pointed out the reality behind Howard Dean's disgusting remarks to the DNC today. It doesn't take much to break the code. You might recall 1850 was just before a little thing we call the Civil War.

"We are the campaign that the under-30s think looks most like their generation," he said, noting the presence of a woman, an African American and a Latino candidate among the Democratic field.

"We are the campaign that looks like America. And when the other side's candidates get up, they look like the 1950s."

"And when they talk," he added a moment later, "they sound like they're from the 1850s."

Allah's Angry Animals

It's simply pathetic and sad to see so many people intent on doing violence over the naming of a silly bear. It's impossible to think of these fanatics as anything other than animals.

Thousands in Sudan Call for British Teddy Bear Teacher's Execution

Michelle Malkin has a round up of reports. Even CNN is reporting on it.

And come the next famine, or whatever, the same animals will be begging the West for food. Certainly I don't mean everyone in Sudan is an animal. But these extreme and extremely violent fanatics should simply be put down. After all, they're obviously rabid. And all they ever do is blame others for their disease.

Slick Hillary: Who Said It?

Well, it wasn't someone from the American Spectator. It was a voter in Harlem. Further down in this CBS story on Obama meeting with Bloomberg, it seems he met with Al Sharpton, too. I'm no fan of Sharpton, but the meeting suggests Hillary is playing more defense than she should for someone once thought to be inevitable.

"I trust him," said Harlem resident Angela Dews. "Hilary is slick. Democrats are taking us (Blacks) for granted."

Flashback to Maryland and Michael Steel. He lost, but similar sentiments as regards the Dems were expressed by Maryland voters, as well.

South Park Gets Real Web Friendly

I remember when you'd click on a South Park clip only to find out it was pulled from You Tube or some such. Starting next year, every episode on line and free.

The decision from the biggest division of media conglomerate Viacom Inc follows on the heels of the “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” whose popularity online has helped boost television viewership.

Obama In BLOOMberg?

Bloomberg is an Independent now. Hillary hasn't exactly been supportive of him. The meeting appeared on Bloomberg's released schedule for today. Later today, Obama will be joining the rest of the Dem candidates at the DNC Fall meeting in Vienna, Va. Should be some interesting speeches.

At 7:45 this morning, Sen. Barack Obama will set vice presidential speculation on fire with a brief stop to say hello to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, himself an occasional presidential flirt. The meeting appeared on Bloomberg's schedule, which was distributed to reporters last night.