I'm Calling Bulls$%^ On This One

Malkin raises a flag about the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle shooting on July 28th last year. She notes that the shooter is pleading insanity. OK, but she misses the really big kicker in my books.

Haq's attorneys, C. Wesley Richards and John Carpenter, said Haq has a long history of mental illness, hospitalizations and suicide attempts over the years. He has most consistently been diagnosed with bipolar disorder with psychotic features, which Richards called "a very debilitating type of mental disorder."

"Obviously, we believe it had a substantial impact on Mr. Haq's conduct," Richards said.

The attorneys also dispute that Haq committed a hate crime. Richards said Haq did not "as a result of religious hatred."

Not a religious hate crime? Let's look back on it a little bit.

Haq is accused of forcing his way into the secure Belltown offices of the federation on July 28 by holding a gun to the back of a 14-year-old girl.

He carried two guns, court documents allege, and spewed anti-Semitic statements as he made his way through the office, randomly shooting people he encountered as some screamed and tried to escape or hide.

The shooting came a day after the FBI had warned Jewish organizations nationwide to be on alert after Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon and al-Qaida's second in command urged that the war raging in the Middle East be carried to the U.S.

Haq reportedly told operators in a 911 call during the shooting, "These are Jews. I want these Jews to get out."

So if neither of these are a hate crime...what is?

People Who ARE calling it a hate crime:
The Seattle Times (twice)
MSNBC
Fox News
Google Search

Fred Is In!

From The Weekly Standard:

FRED THOMPSON IS RUNNING for the Republican presidential nomination. In a conference call Monday, Thompson addressed a group of more than 100 supporters and fundraisers whom the campaign has dubbed First Day Founders. He told them that he would be setting up an organization that will allow him to begin raising money and recruiting staff.

In official campaign finance parlance, the move represents a shift from "giving serious consideration" to a presidential bid, as Thompson said he would do back in March, as a non-candidate, to a "testing the waters" period where one is, in effect, a candidate-in-waiting with a campaign-in-preparation. Thompson advisers point out that the new testing-the-waters entity is not quite a campaign committee, though it will officially begin accepting contributions on June 4. On that day--the First Day, as it were--the campaign will take in donations that it can then tout as an impressive one-day haul. A corollary benefit will be that news reports about Thompson's non-entry entry will run on June 5, when the declared candidates will meet in New Hampshire for their third debate. (Thompson won't be required to disclose his donors and the amounts they give to the Federal Election Commission until September.)

H/T: Drudge

And I'm Back!

I got back Thursday from the golf trip and spent the weekend with the family for Memorial Day, but I came back to make you ever so jealous of my trip, mwahahaha.

My dad picked me up Saturday to head out, and since we didn't have far to drive, we decided to play 18 holes here in Cookeville. We went to White Plains, but they had a tournament that weekend. So we headed to a course I had never played, Cookeville Golf Club. It was a nice, short par 70 that was less than 5800 yards from the white tees. We started on the back nine and I played pretty well for myself. Averaging about 220 with my Golden Bear Driver (It gets a LOT better (c: ) and my short game was good, but I could not get away from 3-putts. I shot a 45 on the first 9, then a 51 on the second nine thanks to a Quad-Bogey on a par 5. Ouch. I finished with a 96, so I was ok.

We drove to MB, and had Sunday away from the course. Monday morning though, we were at Blackmoor, a Scottish style links course. We were playing 18 and started on the back 9, After getting over my 7 on the #10 par 4, I shot a 45 on a par 36 9 holes, including 3 pars in a row. It helped a lot that I hit 4/7 fairways and 2 putted all but 2 holes. Then we started the back 9. I ended up with 4 triples, and ended the day at 99. So I wasn't quite in triple digits.

The next day was 18 at Wachesaw Plantation East. It was a tournament course and it showed. It was hard, and seemed like it would never give you a break. The edge of the fairways sloped down, kickin any slightly astray ball into the woods. Needless to say, I used MANY 4 iron punch outs, and having to wait 10 minutes on the group in front of you every hole (Even after playing a complete par 3 hole) was a bit stressing. I broke into the triple digits, and was NOT happy.

The last day was by far the best. The Witch was poised to be exactly that. The practice green was so sloped, that 2 feet of break was AVERAGE. Weary, we went onto the driving range to get warmed up. I have a standard warm up out there; 5, 7, and driver. 5 was ok, 7 was better, but I decided to get frisky today. Both days I had been killing my Golden Bear with precision, but it just seemed like it couldn't get the distance I wanted. I decided to try out my dad's Taylormade R5 460. I topped the first 2 at the range, and teed up the third. I pulled the trigger and a satisfying driver ping sent the ball dead center, and FLEW the 225 marker. I teed it up again, and again, over the 225 marker.

I was ready.

We started on the par 4 #10, and after a decent drive I put my second shot just off the green, and 2 putted for par. From then, even if all other aspects of my game were off, my driving was precise. Then came 2 of the best drives I will have ever hit in my life. First was at the par 4 #15. A 379 yard dogleg to the left. I was the last to shoot after my dad had hit his into the fairway and the other two in our group played them pretty well. I stepped up and took aim at cutting the dogleg. I swung and that powerful ping returned and my ball rocketed towards the inside corner of the turn. It went past the trees and hit on the downward side of the green. When we came to my ball, it had come to rest inside the 100 yard mark. A 280 YARD DRIVE!

I finished the day decently but rarely had to putt more than twice per hole. I was quite satisfied. We finished up and headed back to Tennessee. It was a great trip, and if you get the chance, do this package. You play The Witch, Man of War, and The Wizard. If we go again, it's what we'll do.

Fooooooooore!!!

I didn't know Hootie played golf! I'm watching the Nationwide Tour on Golf Channel before I go out to play 9 holes, and sure enough, Darius Rucker is shooting an 8 under par! Way to go Hootie!

I'm really looking forward to my trip to Myrtle Beach with my dad, and I've been playing golf like a fiend to get ready for it. I can't say it's helped, but it's good fun though anyways. I played 9 holes yesterday, I'm playing 9 today, and I'm going to play 18 tomorrow and probably another 18 on Saturday. Then it's traveling followed by 3 days strait of 18 holes on the beach!

Bad News & Good News

The Bad:
A Qassam rocket hit a high school in Negev, Israel.

The Good:
The classroom it hit was empty at the time.

And from earlier, John reminds us that it was the Palestinians who fired the rockets that also signed a "peace agreement" in November.

A Story Worth The Steam It's Picking Up

Channon Christian and Chris Newsom were brutally murdered in ways that should never happen. But in a world where a non-rape of a black girl leads headlines for a month, (before they started admitting it *might* not have happened) the brutal rape, torture, and murder of two innocent college students has remained remarkably un-noticed.

If you haven't heard the story by now, I'll send you to Flopping Aces to read about the details. But to make a point, the torture they experienced was seemingly from the textbook of Saddam Hussein, or terrorist kidnappers.

I was listening to the radio, and apparently some one contacted The Tennessean about why they haven't reported this. And although they readily spent weeks on the Duke case, and quite some time reporting the death of Anna Nicole Smith, their statement was "We do not cover Knoxville stories."

A contact you might want to write to:
Alan Whitt - Senior Editor at The Tennessean

Other blogs reporting it:
Hot Air's Vent
News Busters
Town Hall

Where Am I?

It's like a regular Where's Waldo here! My apologies for not blogging more often. I know the thousands...dozens?...OK, so the couple of people who read this blog have been without material to read for the past while.

Exams were 2 weeks ago, then after that I was in Atlanta to see the College-ette, and back home for Mother's Day with my mom. We have dial-up at the house so I wasn't on the computer much to begin with. I've been so backed up, I'm a week behind on the HWC Baseball Recaps. I'm just now finishing the Week 5 recap, and Week 6 ended Sunday!!

This week is one of leisure and golf, so if anything happens of interest, I'll look into it. I WAS planning on going to the Friday and Saturday qualifying rounds at Bristol for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals with my dad, but due to either an inept construction crew or something, they have been pushed back to the first of July. Shame. I was wanting to hang out with Bill, Max, Jane and the rest of the Jager crew again.

After the drags, we were planning on going to Myrtle Beach for 3 days of golfing and fun in the sun. That thankfully is still on, but the loss of the 7,000 horses will be sadly missed. We are playing at Blackmoor (a Scottish links course), Wachesaw Plantation, and The Witch. Should be fun.

Then it's back home and on Memorial Day Sunday the family and the College-ette and I are going to the Alabama Jubilee Hot Air Balloon Festival.

After that summer courses start. Oh joy!