“Gas the Arabs” painted on the gate outside a Palestinian home in Hebron (al-Khalil) by Jewish settlers. It is signed “JDL” (Jewish Defence League)

And they’re worried about anti semitism?

Young to a republican is 38? That’s about right. They truly are the party of hate, proven once again by this.

Audra Shay, accused of endorsing racism on Facebook, is favored to become the head of the Young Republicans tomorrow. John Avlon uncovers new details about her disturbing online comments.

Thirty-eight year old Audra Shay’s campaign to become the next chairman of the Young Republicans went from obscure to infamous over the past week, after the Daily Beast revealed details of posts of her Facebook account. Specifically, a thread where one her friends posts that ““Obama Bin Lauden [sic] is the new terrorist… Muslim is on there side [sic]… need to take this country back from all of these mad coons… and illegals,” and Shay responds eight minutes later with: “You tell em Eric! lol.”

Or, maybe they are the party of Self Destruction.

Fox and Friends‘ Brian Kilmeade has never been mistaken for a bright guy, but even for him, this is bad – on several levels:

I’ll be charitable and assume that Brian Kilmeade’s stupidity outstrips his zeal for eugenics – but this is Fox News we’re talking about.

For some reason, it made me think of this scene from In Bruges (NSFW and not politically correct).

Actually, apart from the two Irish guys, that scene is not far off from Fox News, huh?

(Cross-posted at Vagabond Scholar)

Juan Cole and Nico Pitney do an interview with Brave New Films

Diane Birch – “Sweet River Tree”

Tuesday Afternoon (forever afternoon) – The Moody Blues
(A day-and-a-half late)

What with the importance of Michael Jackson’s death, not much was mentioned about the deaths in Afghanistan this month.

10 U.S. soldiers have died in Afghanistan so far this month. Reading this, one has to wonder how many more cases of PTSD we are causing in Afghanistan. According to this soldier, who was killed in Afghanistan, it’s much worse there than Iraq was. Another useless war. RIP Derwin Williams.

This is good, but while you’re at it why not tell Israel to knock off the bullshit.

The State Department confirmed today that as many as 1,350 Iraqi Palestinians – once the well-treated guests of Saddam Hussein and now at outs with much of Iraqi society – will be resettled in the US, mostly in southern California, starting this fall.

It will be the largest-ever resettlement of Palestinian refugees into the US – and welcome news to the Palestinians who fled to Iraq after 1948 but who have had a tough time since Mr. Hussein was deposed in 2003. Targeted by Iraqi Shiites, the mostly-Sunni Palestinians have spent recent years in one of the region’s roughest refugee camps, Al Waleed, near Iraq’s border with Syria.

“Really for the first time, the United States is recognizing a Palestinian refugee population that could be admitted to the US as part of a resettlement program,” says Bill Frelick, refugee policy director at Human Rights Watch in Washington.

Given the US’s past reluctance to resettle Palestinians – it accepted just seven Palestinians in 2007 and nine in 2008 – the effort could ruffle some diplomatic feathers.

For many in the State Department and international community, the resettlement is part of a moral imperative the US has to clean up the refugee crisis created by invading Iraq. The US has already stepped up resettlement of Iraqis, some who have struggled to adjust to life in America.

The resettlement of Iraqi Palestinians is “an important gesture for the United States to demonstrate that we’re not heartless,” says Alon Ben-Meir, a professor of international relations and Middle Eastern studies at New York University.

But some critics say the State Department is sloughing off its problems onto American cities, especially since in this case the Palestinians were sympathizers of Hussein, who was deposed by the US.

“This is politically a real hot potato,” says Mark Krikorian, director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, adding, “[A]merica has become a dumping ground for the State Department’s problems – they’re tossing their problems over their head into Harrisburg, Pa., or Omaha, Neb.”

Wonder how many times he lied.

Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove was deposed Tuesday by attorneys for the House Judiciary Committee, according to Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the panel’s chairman.

Rove’s deposition began at 10 a.m. and ended around 6:30 p.m, with several breaks, Conyers said.

Conyers would not comment on what Rove told congressional investigators, what the next step in the long-running Judiciary Committee investigation would be or whether Rove would face additional questioning.

“He was deposed today,” Conyers said in an interview. “That’s all I can tell you.”

Rove’s attorney, Robert Luskin, declined to confirm or deny that his client had appeared before the committee. Luskin said there was an agreement that the depositions would remain confidential until they were completed. However, in a court filing Monday, the Justice Department indicated that the deposition set for this week would be the committee’s last.

David Letterman: Top 10 Messages on Sarah Palin’s Answering Machine.

Gee Dave, you should of told her to eat shit and die when she threw her hissy fit about you.

There were people who thought she’d make a great Governor. There were people who actually believed she would make a great vice president! That’s how dumb America is. And that is why we’re considered a laughing stock in the world.

From Raw Story:

Palin says winning White House will shield her from ethics charges

Refers to nonexistent ‘department of law’

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has a new plan for dodging “spurious” ethics charges — if winning the White House is considered a plan.

In an ABC News interview released Tuesday, the onetime Alaska commander-in-chief signaled that if she succeeded in a presidential run, life would get easier.

“I don’t think it will be the day after day after day of ethics violation charges that are frivolous, that are ridiculous,” she quipped. “I think on a national level your department of law there in the White House would look at this, the things we have been charged with, and automatically throw them out, not make somebody hire their own personal attorney to get out there and fight.”

Wrote ABC’s Kate Snow and Rick Klein wryly, “There is no ‘department of law’ at the White House, though Palin appears to have been referring to the White House counsel’s office.”

She could also have been referred to the Justice Department.

Lou Rawls
“You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine”