Miss Universe: Gitmo Is “Fun” And “Relaxing”

Dayana Mendoza, the reigning Miss Universe, described Guantanamo Bay, which she just toured, as “a lot of fun” and “a relaxing, calm, beautiful place.”  The Venezuelan beauty visited the facility, where there are 220 detainees, from March 20-25 with Miss USA Crystle Stewart.

When you now go to the blog, it appears as though what was originally written has been replaced by the words of Paula Shugart, President of the Miss Universe Organization, who did the requisite spin control:

Dayana Mendoza’s comments on her blog were in reference to the hospitality she received while meeting the members …

Did Rush Limbaugh Actually Say These Things?

Vanity Fair has a feature on the king of talk radio that includes a companion piece with these quotes:

1. “There is no conclusive proof that nicotine’s addictive… And the same thing with cigarettes causing emphysema, lung cancer, heart disease.”

2. “Columbus saved the Indians from themselves.”

3. “He is exaggerating the effects of the disease. He’s moving all around and shaking and it’s purely an act… This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn’t take his medication or he’s acting.”

4. “[African Americans] are twelve percent of the population. Who the hell cares?”…

On Tuesday’s Radio Show…

• From “War on Terror” to “Freedom Tower,” many once-popular post-9/11 buzzwords are fading away. Berkeley linguistics Professor George Lakoff explains why.

• Alan examines recent reports that former VP Cheney ran an “executive assassination ring.”

• Is President Obama ushering in a new age of American optimism? We’ll weigh the evidence.…

Sy Hersh: Cheney Bad-Mouthed Obama To The Israelis

In a New Yorker article just out, Seymour Hersh says that when Barack Obama was president-elect, Vice President Cheney put him down to the Israelis. (h/t Hoffmania)

The Obama transition team also helped persuade Israel to end the bombing of Gaza and to withdraw its ground troops before the Inauguration. According to the former senior intelligence official, who has access to sensitive information, “Cheney began getting messages from the Israelis about pressure from Obama” when he was President-elect. Cheney, who worked closely with the Israeli leadership in the lead-up to the Gaza war, portrayed Obama to the Israelis …

Tripled: The Number Of Americans Who Believe We’re Headed In The Right Direction

Since Obama has been president, three times as many Americans believe we’re headed in the right direction.  They blame the financial services industry, not the new president, for the shape we’re in.  The Washington Post-ABC News Poll give Obama a 66% approval rating, and 60% approval on the economy.  Forty-two percent say we’re on the right track, compared to 15% in mid-December.

There is now a pronounced divergence between Democratic and Republican perceptions of the economy, a bigger partisan divide than the one that occurred 16 years ago after Bill Clinton took office. In early 1993, people in both parties …

NASA Vs. Colbert

NASA held a contest to help name the new International Space Station.  The problem is, 230,539 Stephen Colbert fans responded to his appeal to name it “Colbert.”  Now, NASA doesn’t know whether it has to do the democratic thing and comply, or wiggle out of the contest and name it what it wanted to all along, the one that came in second at NASA’s prompting, “Serenity.”

Last week, U.S. Representative Chaka Fattah, a Pennsylvania Democrat, called on NASA to do the democratic thing and use the name that drew the most votes.

“NASA decided to hold an election …

Mirrors Hurt

The attacks have begun because of my piece on the new “Fox Nation.”  At Lucianne.com I’m ridiculed as being a “whiner” and as someone who “looks as goofy as his opinions.”  Good one. Attack my appearance because you don’t like my opinion.  At American Conservative Daily the response to me pointing out Republican hypocrisy is, “We are doing what you….taught us to do.”  That’s only a slightly more mature way of arguing by saying, “No, you are.”  According to this guy, I’m “unhinged.”

And the commenters don’t particularly see it my way:

Glenda:

The role …

On Monday’s Radio Show…

• Alan and Fox Business anchor Tom Sullivan weigh the pros and cons of the Obama administration’s sweeping plans to revive the ailing auto industry.

• Pastor Joel Osteen and his wife Victoria Osteen sit down with Alan to discuss their upcoming event at Yankee Stadium and also their latest book, the Hope For Today Bible.

• You like me! You really like me!! Alan responds to all of the friendly conservatives who disagreed with his defense of Obama.…

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell: Why The Holdup?

It’s unclear what they’re waiting for to lift the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy.  Is it because President Clinton incurred negative reviews when he did it early on in his administration?  Most admit it’s a lousy policy.  Defense Secretary Robert Gates on “Fox News Sunday” didn’t have a good explanation.  I thought administrations could walk and chew gum at the same time.

…

Obama Filling Vacancies Faster than Bush Did

In spite of criticisms from Bama Bashers that the president has been too slow in filling vacancies, he is, in fact, outpacing Bush on nominations.

Of the 385 posts at Cabinet-level agencies that a president must appoint, Obama had sent 100 names to the Senate as of March 24, of which 38 were confirmed. In contrast, Bush had sent 40 and gotten 30 confirmed by the same point in 2001. Obama has also announced more than two dozen other nominations that haven’t yet been submitted to the Senate.

Sorry, but there goes one more bashing point.…

More Proof That Harsh Detainee Treatment Does No Good

In fact, waterboarding and rough interrogation actually hurts our efforts to remain safe, because it results in false leads.  The CIA’s first high-value captive, Abu Zubaida, told tales under extreme conditions that we thought would lead us to discover al Qaeda plots.

In the end, though, not a single significant plot was foiled as a result of Abu Zubaida’s tortured confessions, according to former senior government officials who closely followed the interrogations. Nearly all of the leads attained through the harsh measures quickly evaporated, while most of the useful information from Abu Zubaida — chiefly names of al-Qaeda members …