Breaking News — Senator Rand Paul detained by TSA

Rand Paul has been detained by the TSA for refusing a pat-down, after a x-ray showed an anomaly”

The Daily Caller has the story:

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul’s press secretary Moira Bagley tweeted on Monday that Transportation Security Administration officials were detaining her boss in Nashville, Tenn.
“Just got a call from @senrandpaul,” Bagley tweeted at about 10 a.m. on Monday. “He’s currently being detained by TSA in Nashville.”
Texas Congressman and current Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul – Sen. Rand Paul’s father – placed a post on Facebook about the news as well. “My son Rand is currently being detained by the TSA at the Nashville Airport,” Ron Paul posted. “I’ll share more details as the situation unfolds.”
Ron Paul adds, via Twitter, that the TSA detained his son “for refusing full body pat-down after anomaly in body scanner.”
Sen. Rand Paul’s Facebook page has a post about the incident too. “Senator Paul is being detained at the Nashville Airport by the TSA,” Sen. Rand Paul’s Facebook post reads. “We will update you as the situation develops.”
Sen. Rand Paul’s chief of staff Doug Stafford told The Daily Caller the Senator “was detained by the TSA after their scanner had an ‘anomaly’ on the first scan.”
via The Daily Caller.

To my libertarian and Ron Paul fans, please, do not freak out over this; the TSA were simply doing their jobs, I believe Rand Paul was released, but they would not let him fly on the plane he did try to board.

My friend, Ed Morrissey, who I do trust, weighs in:

No one thinks a Senator should get different treatment than anyone else, but that proves that the security theater we experience at airports isn’t designed with flight security as its primary goal. Besides, let’s not forget that TSA is already working on programs for clearing frequent travelers on an expedited basis who they know through prior investigation won’t pose a security risk on commercial flights. Who in their right mind thinks that Senator Rand Paul represented any kind of real security risk on board an aircraft? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Now, it might look like it was intentional, but I very much highly doubt that was even remotely intentional at all. I simply believe that the TSA wanted to do their jobs and Rand Paul refused to let them, and for this, he was detained and released and not allowed to fly. Let us not forget why the TSA put these regulations in place, on Christmas Day in 2009, an idiot kid from Nigeria blow himself up on a plane from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan; which by the way is my hometown and the airport that this almost happened at, is less than 10 miles from my HOUSE!

Anyhow, again, this might look bad, but I seriously doubt it is anything but Senator Rand Paul grandstanding against something that he feels is against his rights as a citizen. I personally disagree with that; I believe that safety of those flying here in America and abroad, should come first. Then again, I have never flown, nor will I ever. Too many planes crashing for this old man. 😯

Rand Paul refused patdown...
On way to Senate, March For Life...
Constitution: 'Privileged From Arrest'...
Standoff in Nashville...
A.Killough / CNN: BREAKING: Spokeswoman: TSA turns away Sen. Rand Paul
Tim Mak / The Politico: Rand Paul detained by TSA
ABCNEWS: Rand Paul in Pat-Down Standoff With TSA in Nashville

Others: Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, Big Government, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, Michelle Malkin, The Raw Story, Gothamist, LewRockwell.com Blog, Campaign 2012, National Review

Update: Now a huge Memeorandum thread.

Update #2: Smitty, who I consider to be a friend; makes some good points.

Mitt Romney fires a shot across Newt Gingrich’s bow

Looks like Mittens is feeling the heat, perhaps from the flip flops and/or because of the recent polls and is firing back.

ORMOND BEACH, Fla. — Mitt Romney landed here Sunday with a simple message: Newt Gingrich is a failure and a fraud. And a disgrace. And a hapless showman.
Standing under a brilliant orange Florida sunset, Romney delivered his longest sustained critique of the South Carolina primary winner to date — ticking through a list as if he were reading off Gingrich’s Wikipedia page, and undercutting each item as he got to it.
“Speaker Gingrich has also been a leader,” the former Massachusetts governor said. “He was a leader for four years as speaker of the House. And at the end of four years, it was proven that he was a failed leader and he had to resign in disgrace. I don’t know whether you knew that, he actually resigned after four years, in disgrace.
Romney continued: “He was investigated over an ethics panel and had to make a payment associated with that and then his fellow Republicans, 88 percent of his Republicans voted to reprimand Speaker Gingrich. He has not had a record of successful leadership.”
Then Romney got into Gingrich’s post-congressional career.
“Over the last 15 years since he left the House, he talks about great bold movements and ideas,” he told the crowd of several hundred people gathered at a building materials company here. “Well, what’s he been doing for 15 years? He’s been working as a lobbyist, yeah, he’s been working as a lobbyist and selling influence around Washington.
via Mitt Romney: Newt Gingrich is a ‘failed leader,’ ‘disgrace’ – Reid J. Epstein – POLITICO.com.

To be clear, Newt Gingrich is not a saint and as Geller put it, “He is a son-of-a-bitch, but he’s our Son-of-a-bitch.” I know that personally I would rather vote for someone like Newt and hold my nose, than to vote for some idiot racist Mormon who worked for a Latin-American financed company that acted as corporate raiders. I am sorry, but that is simply Anti-American; the very idea that an American would sit at a table with Latin Americans to devise a plan to destroy American businesses is absolutely asinine and for this Mitt Romney should be held accountable. However, because Fox News and others are in the tank for that creep, you will not hear a word about it and that my friends is the tragic thing about corporate media.

So, yes, you can put me in the “anyone but Mitt Romney” category.

Video: Miracle baby goes home

This video comes via “The Morning Spew” (H/T to Hotair.com)

…and to think, liberal Democrats believe that this little precious bundle of joy is annoyance and should have been terminated. Bastards they are, all of them. 😡

Zach Edwards loses his job

As he should….

Remember Zack Edwards, the guy arrested for scamming? Well, he’s unemployed.

Jeff Link, president of Link Strategies, confirmed Saturday that Edwards no longer works for the company.
“I am greatly disturbed by the charge brought against Zach, and understand the pending legal action will run its course,” Link said.
He added that within hours “of learning of this situation, I met with Zach and notified him he was no longer employed with Link Strategies effective immediately. After gathering further information it is clear the incident involved in the allegation was related to a personal action taken by Zach and unrelated to his work with Link Strategies. “
Link also said his firm “holds itself to a high bar of ethics and professionalism, and this type of activity is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.”
via Political consultants quickly fire arrested man | The Des Moines Register | DesMoinesRegister.com.

Way I see it, anyone stupid enough to pull off a bone-headed stunt like this; should be unemployed and remain unemployed for a very long time. Hopefully, the justice system runs its course and the only kind of job this guy will be maintaining is the “pivot man” in a circle jerk. (Yeah, I know, it’s nasty, but I needed to make my point in a blunt way…)

Others: The Iowa Republican

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords to resign from Congress

The inspiring video:

The story via Arizona Daily Star:

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will step down from Congress this week to focus on her recovery, her staff announced Sunday.
“I have more work to do on my recovery, so to do what is best for Arizona, I will step down this week,” Giffords said in a video message.
Giffords, a third-generation Arizonan who served five years in the state Legislature before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2006, will not seek re-election this fall.
Giffords vowed to return public service.
“I will return and we will work together for Arizona and this great country,” she said.
In the two-minute video, Giffords urged her colleagues in Congress to work across party lines.
“A lot has happened over the past year,” she said. “We cannot change that. But I know on the issues we fought for, we can change things for the better.”
Giffords will submit her letter of resignation later this week to House Speaker John Boehner and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer. The governor will set the date for special primary and general elections to determine who will serve the remainder of Giffords’ term.

God Bless her, my her recovery be swift.

I will say this, I am very highly disappointed in this nasty comments being left over on the YouTube page where this video was posted. I don’t give a hoot who it is and what side they are on; it is shameful.

Gabrielle Giffords: U.S. REP. GABRIELLE GIFFORDS WILL STEP DOWN FROM CONGRESS THIS WEEK

ABCNEWS: Rep. Gabrielle Giffords to Step Down from Congress

Round Up: msnbc.com, Scared Monkeys, Patterico’s Pontifications, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, The Democratic Daily, The Raw Story, Arizona Republic and The Moderate Voice, WTVM-TV, Taegan Goddard’s …, Wake up America, The Daily Caller, Guardian, The Political Carnival, RedState, CBS New York and The Impolitic

Update: As always Ed Morrissey displays the class that makes me respect him very highly:

I respect Giffords’ decision, given her inability to execute the duties of the office and her need to focus on her recovery, but I wish she could have recovered enough to fill out the rest of her term. It would have been a defiant answer to the madness of her would-be assassin. Regardless, my prayers will be with her and her family as she continues to recover, and I hope that she finds herself able to return to full capacity as soon as possible. I may have disagreed with Giffords on many points of policy, but the courage shown by her and her husband in very difficult circumstances has been inspiring to people all across the political spectrum.

Agreed times 1 bazillion.

Update #2: Apparently some bloggers have nothing better to do than to knock others down to make themselves look good. Kinda like a particular pony-tailed queer I know. I say this to her in Yiddish:

du bist an absolut umkoved keyn dayn mishpokhe keyn got der tate un keyn your`land yisroyl

Videos: Flip-Flop: Romney caves on tax returns

First he was against it: (H/T HotAir.com)

Then, he was for it: (via Daily Caller – H/T HotAir.com)

This calls into question Mitt Romney’s judgements and ability think under pressure. My question is, which Mitt Romney would we be voting for and if he cannot stick to a single position here, what else would be flip flop on? Would he flip flop on Obamacare too? These are questions that he must answer.

Newt Gingrich Snags the win in South Carolina

Obviously, I underestimated the power Chuck Norris. 😯

ABC, Fox News, CBS, AP, are all reporting that New Gingrich has won the South Carolina primary. I guess the accusations of his second ex-wife did not stick at all. Which says much about the moral condition of South Carolina and of the Nation as a whole.

AllahPundit, as always has some very good information. Here’s Romney’s speech, in this speech, he dings Gingrich, Newt does not return the favor and in fact, he compliments all of the people running with him in the primary. Voters will remember that:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Here is the first part of Newt’s victory speech, I’ll post the second part when it comes up: (H/T Fox News Insider)

and Part 2:

Florida is going to be an interesting battle. I look forward to blogging about it! 😀

Blogger Round up via Memeornadum

Two interesting blog postings on #SOPA, Hollywood and the legal system

This comes via Matt Mullenweg, who’s the genius behind the software that powers this blog —- and almost every other one under the sun.

Andrew Bridges — PandoDaily: Forget SOPA, Hollywood Already Had a Field Day with the Justice System.
Clay Shirky: Pick up the pitchforks: David Pogue underestimates Hollywood.

Ronald Reagan said it best:

…and the Technology/Blogger/web 2.0 crowd found that out this past week, first hand. Now, do you still all want to be Democrats?

Just a thought…..

Culture of Corruption: Former Obama Staffer Busted for Stealing Iowa Secretary of State’s Identity

I have not always agreed with Michelle Malkin; but when she wrote this book here, she had a very good point — and no I am not talking about the one on the top of her head either! 😉 :

Barack Obama’s 2008 Iowa New Media Director was arrested Friday for attempting to use the identities of Secretary of State Matt Schultz, and/or his brother Thomas, with the intent to falsely implicate the Secretary Schultz in illegal or unethical behavior. Zach Edwards, 29, of Des Moines, currently works for Link Strategies, a Democrat-affiliated organization with ties to Iowa Senator Tom Harkin. Edwards is the Director of New Media for Link Strategies.
The Secretary of State’s office discovered the alleged crime and reported it to authorities. Edwards turned himself in to the Iowa DCI agents Friday afternoon. He was charged with identity theft, a misdemeanor, and booked into the Polk County jail. Edwards posted $2,000 bail and was released later on Friday. He faces up to two years in prison.
Zach Edwards’ bio on Link Strategies website says he joined the Obama campaign in early 2007 as an intern in Nevada. He eventually joined the New Media department and directed their operations in five other primary states. He was the Iowa Director of New Media for Barack Obama’s general election campaign. After the election, Edwards joined Link Strategies, “where he provides innovative web-based research tools, video analysis and production, and web-based communication tools to assist our clients,” according to the bio.
Those clients include Iowa Senator Tom Harkin. On the Link Strategies testimonial page, Harkin credits the political consultant group for his electoral success. “The folks at Link Strategies have been helping me win campaigns since 1996. Whether it is managing campaigns or handling research, their specialty is doing quality work while finding smart, creative solutions to problems. In a tough fight, there is no question that I want Link Strategies in my corner.”
Jeff Link, the founder of Link Strategies, ran the Gore-Lieberman presidential campaign in Iowa in 2000. He managed Tom Harkin’s 2002 and 2008 reelection campaigns. Link also served as a media consultant for Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign.
via Former Obama Staffer Busted for Stealing Iowa Secretary of State’s Identity | The Iowa Republican.

Charming fellow. 🙄

Others: Iowa Grounds, Power Line, Hot Air, Des Moines Register, RedState and The Gateway Pundit

Newt in the lead in South Carolina polling

Looks like the attacks on Newt from his ex-wife did not do a thing to diminish his chances. Either that or Chuck Norris has more power and influence than I thought. 😉

Quote:

Newt Gingrich heads into South Carolina election day as the clear front runner in the state: he’s now polling at 37% to 28% for Mitt Romney, 16% for Rick Santorum, and 14% for Ron Paul.
Gingrich’s lead has actually increased in the wake of his ex-wife’s controversial interview with ABC. Although one night poll results should always be interpreted with caution, he led the final night of the field period by a 40-26 margin. One thing that continues to work to his advantage are the debates. 60% of primary voters report having watched the one last night, and Gingrich has a 46-23 lead with those folks.
The other reason his ex-wife’s interview isn’t causing him much trouble is that there’s a lot of skepticism about it. Only 31% of voters say they think her accusations are true while 35% think they are false and 34% are unsure. 51% of voters say that they have ‘no concerns’ about what came out in the interview.
The skepticism of Republican voters toward the media is helping Gingrich as well. Just 14% of likely voters have a generally favorable opinion of the media, while 77% view it negatively. Gingrich’s attacks on the media have clearly played well with the party base.
Gingrich is leading with pretty much every key segment of the Republican electorate. He’s up 41-21 on Romney and Santorum with Evangelicals, he has a 52-18 advantage on Romney with Tea Partiers, he leads Santorum 44-21 with ‘very conservative’ voters with Romney at 20%, and he’s up 39-26 with men.
In the final week of the campaign Gingrich rose from 24% to 37% in PPP’s polling while Romney basically stayed in place, going from 29% to 28%. Romney saw a 15 point decline in his net favorability in the closing stretch from +24 (57/33) to just +9 (51/42). Gingrich saw a modest increase in his numbers over the final week from +14 (51/37) to +17 (54/37).
via Newt expands South Carolina lead – Public Policy Polling.

Best thing about all that up there? Ron Paul is a 14%; which is where that Jew-Hating, Racist bigot jerk belongs in this race. 😡 Like I told my commenter, “John V” the man allowed his name to be lent to a bunch of newsletters that contained some of the most vile, nasty stuff ever written; much more than anything that I ever written here or on my old blog. That alone brings into question his judgement as a leader; not to mention as a congressmen.

Furthermore, the worst thing that ever happened to me, during my tenure as a blogger; is the fact that I actually got associated with that idiot man and his followers. For the record, I have never, ever agreed with any of the garbage that was contained in those newsletters, ever. Furthermore, the most idiotic, tone-deaf thing I ever have done was when I thought that I could call myself a Paleoconservative/paleolibertarian and could actually disagree with that tripe. The truth is everyone and I mean every darned last one of them agree with that garbage that was published in those newsletters. Because of that, I prefer to call myself simply, “Right of Center.” I do not agree with Wilsonian foreign policy, but I sure as heck do not agree with those who seem to harbor the ugliness in those newsletters.

If there is anything that I ever hope to accomplish as a writer; it is that I can finally shake off the association with those who are of the Ron Paul, anti-black, anti-Jew mentality. I do not think that way, nor have I ever, nor will I ever. I might not like the liberal left’s idea of racial resentment and “Multiculturalism;” But I am not a bigot, not like those people.

As for Newt and Mitt’s race; I believe sooner or later, one of them will win the primary and the Republican Party will get behind one of them. The sooner the better, if you ask me.

Others: Gretawire, Don Surber, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Mashable!, Christian Science Monitor, Yahoo! News, Scared Monkeys, today.yougov.com News, American Spectator, Political Insider, Telegraph, Daily Kos, New York Times, ABCNEWS, Hot Air, Ricochet Conversations Feed, The Reaction, M.JOSEPH SHEPPARD’S …, Guardian, Gallup and Clemson University