I'm trying out some new layouts, in order to see if I can get a larger and brighter font.  So if things look a bit wacky, you know why.

This is a rarity.  Tim Russert is used to making everyone else look bad.  But on Sunday's Meet the Press when he interviewed Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, he was one that sat in the hotseat.

It all started when Russert asked him about the now-infamous Q&A session in Iraq.  Just like other media outlets, as I discussed here, Rumsfeld response to a question about armor for tanks was taken out of context by Russert.

After Russert showed "selected" clips of Rumsfeld's response, here's what transpired:

SEC'Y RUMSFELD:  Yeah, but wait a minute.  Let me get into this a little bit.

MR. RUSSERT:  Sure.

SEC'Y RUMSFELD:  That was unfair and it was selectively taking out two sentences from a long exchange--there it is--that took place.  And when you suggested that that's how I answered that question, that is factually wrong.

MR. RUSSERT:  No, we...

SEC'Y RUMSFELD:  That is not how I answered that question.

MR. RUSSERT:  But, Mr. Secretary, it clearly represents the exchange and...

SEC'Y RUMSFELD:  It does not.

MR. RUSSERT:  All right.  What is missing?

SEC'Y RUMSFELD:  You want to hear the exchange?  There is it.  It's right here.  I'll read it to you.

MR. RUSSERT:  I just...

SEC'Y RUMSFELD:  If you're going to quote pieces of it, I'll give you the exchange.

Now, that answer is totally different from picking out two lines.  And I think it's an unfair representation and it's exactly what some of the newspapers around the country did.  Now, let's go back to Susan Collins' comment, Senator Collins...

The Pentagon chief predicted that by mid-February "there will not be a vehicle moving around in Iraq outside of a protected compound with American soldiers in it that does not have an appropriate level of armor."

But Russert replied: "Which is a pretty dramatic change, because Newsweek had said that, of the 19,000 Humvees in the Iraqi theater, according to the Army's latest numbers, only a quarter were fully armored. So the fact is that Specialist Wilson's question in front of his troops in which he was cheered was helpful in getting people to truly focus and respond to this. Fair?"

To which Rumsfeld responded: "Well, you saw my answer."

UPDATE:  Via Booker, The Toronto Sun cites sources that say she has audio tapes of telephone conversations between the accuser and Cosby.  According to their sources, she has already given the tapes to Montgomery County's DA.  That doesn't sound too good.

Was there any question about who would come home with the Lombardi Trophy?  I didn't question it, and anyone would knew a lick about the NFL wouldn't have either.

That didn't mean the Patriots made it easy to win, or easy to watch.  This was probably the worst coaching performance by the three-headed monster: Belichick, Weis, and Crennel.  Weis made the playcalling very ultraconservative, and didn't take any chances downfield.  After they went up by ten, it seemed as if the offense felt the game was over and that they didn't need to play anymore. 

Crennel really looked bad, IMO, especially when he called for man-to-man coverage and had no one covering deep on the huge touchdown pass McNabb connected to Greg Lewis with less than two minutes left in the game.   It didn't help that he had the corners play soft on the Eagles receivers in the 3rd quarter scoring drive that tied the game at 14.  Believe me; if the Pats would have somehow lost that game, even on a fluke, everyone would have been crapping on Crennel today.

Lucky for them, McNabb was terrible.  If you would have told me that NE would only win by three points, yet McNabb was picked three times I would have thought you were crazy.  The truth is, McNabb could have had a couple more picked off as well, as it seemed as if the accurate passes were the ones thrown to NE's secondary.  I think it's a testament to the improvement of the Eagles receiver corp that they were able to make big catches that were often overthrown or thrown behind them.  And the blame for the horrible clock management - not only in the fourth quarter but before halftime as well - goes to him as well as Andy Reid.

There were some bright spots.  Deion Branch, who was the Super Bowl MVP, and Terrell Owens stole the show.  Branch bruised the Eagles secondary for a SB record-tying 11 catches for 133 yards.  If it wasn't for him, the Pats would have been in serious trouble in this game.  And Terrell Owens definitely showed he is the best WR in the league, catching nine passes for 122 yards on a bad leg that for all intents and purposes isn't fully rehabilitated.  (It should be noted that Branch missed most of the season, and was almost placed on IR.  I'm sure the Pats are glad they didn't.)

Philly's defense kept them in the game to the end, making great stops and never allowing Corey Dillon and Kevin Faulk to stay consistent with the running game.  That surprised me, because Dillon generally does his damage in the fourth quarter by breaking tackles, consistently getting those six yard runs, and killing the clock.  The fact is that the defense gave the Eagles more than enough chances to win this game, but the offense - with the exception of TO - was abysmal.

Now that I've talked about the game, let's now talk about Freddie Mitchell.

I said it like that because Freddie Mitchell wasn't in the game.  One catch for 11 yards.  That's absolutely sad.  I'm listening to Jim Rome and the Clones rip into him throughout the show today, but let's be real...you knew he wouldn't produce anything.  He never has!  And with TO in the game you knew McNabb isn't looking at him as an option unless everyone else is covered and he is WIDE open.

And another thing:  Mitchell called out Pats cornerback Rodney Harrison, yet Harrison had more catches than Mitchell did.  Harrison had two picks and a sack last night, and would have been MVP if it wasn't for Branch's performance.  This will go down as one of the biggest flops in sports history, and Mitchell deserves every bit of the criticism he gets from here on out.  I wouldn't be surprised if the Eagles cut him in the offseason.

Mitchell wasn't the only one; Todd Pinkston was a joke too.  Pink actually had a great first half, catching four passes for 80 yards including two tough catches to help the Eagles get on the scoreboard in the second quarter.  But he was "injured" in the second half, and never finished the game. 

The injury?  Cramps.  That's right; you're playing in the SUPER BOWL and during the first half was putting up great numbers and helping your team move the ball down the field, yet you are going to leave the game because you have cramps.  I tell ya; the Super Bowl is one helluva time to go on your period.  People were trashing Chuck Badnarik last week for claiming today's football players were soft and hoping the Eagles lose so the 1960 team would be the only Eagles team to win the championship, but Pink helped cement that assertion.

All in all, the Patriots deserve praise for what they've done.  Regardless if Belichick can get it done next year without his coaching staff (Weis has been hired to be the head coach at Notre Dame, Cremmel will be the head coach at Cleveland), no one can deny their place in NFL history.  Rest assured, Brady and Belichick have their spots prepared at the Hall when they hang up the cleats (or the clipboard if you're Belichick).

It's a shame that this year isn't anything like last year.

Last year the Super Bowl wasn't drowned out by egos, and people actually focused on the game.  Now we hear even the most stupid questions being asked about guys who will probably make little to no impact in the game itself.  Hence, that's what I'm here for.  Let's talk about the game.

The focal point of this game is the Eagles offense.  They have a lot of pressure on them, regardless of whether TO plays in this game or not.  It's not because I don't think they can put points on the board, because they will.  But will they put enough points on the board to keep this game within single digits?  That's the question.

My childhood days were spent in Hyde County, North Carolina, which is just off the famed Outer Banks.  Generations of my family have lived there, through both slavery and freedom.

One of the historical points in during those times was back in 1967 in Middletown, in which I went into a little bit here.  At the time, the schools were being forced to integrate (but black people in the county fought it.  If you wanna know more about it, read this book) and racial tensions were at an all-time high.

The Klan had a building in Middletown where they had their rallies.  There had been several incidents between the black teenagers - one of them being my dad - who had brushes with the Klan, and people could see it was going to come to a boiling point.  My dad and his friends/family were hiding their guns at my uncle's house, and the Klan were trying to intimidate black people in the area by spreading leaflets and spraypainting houses.

Well, one night my cousin and some friends of his were out riding around in Middletown, and the road just happened to go right by the Klan's building, and one of dem dere good ole boys decided to get that ole shotgun out and shoot into the back window of the car.

No one was hurt.  But it didn't take but a hour or so to round up a posse to take a trip on the Klan house.

By the time the county police got there, I think two were shot, one on each side.  No one was killed, though, and most importantly, the Klan was never seen in that county again.  My father wasn't there, because he had went with one of my uncles to Manteo that afternoon.  For some reason, he never mentioned all of that stuff to me.  I had found out about the book, and mentioned some of the stuff I had read.  I guess he never thought it was that important. 

However, I did.  It was a perfect example of how citizens in a community took things into their own hands to run the cess pool of society out of their county.  

So imagine how I felt when I read this (from Free Iraqi):

Citizens of Al Mudiryiah were subjected to an attack by several militants today who were trying to punish the residents of this small town for voting in the election last Sunday.
The citizens responded and managed to stop the attack, kill 5 of the attackers, wounded 8 and burned their cars.
3 citizens were injured during the fire exchange. The Shiekh of the tribe to whom the 3 wounded citizens belong demanded more efforts from the government to stop who he described as "Salafis".

I bet those maggots will think twice before they go back into that town again.  And that's what all Iraqis have to do in order to get rid of terrorism in their country; simply fight back.  They don't all have to be combative, but they should cooperate and target areas where these people are giving these terrorists aid and sanctuary, whether it's businesses or residences.  Terrorists can't hide if there aren't any hiding places.

Here's hoping there are more stories like these popping up.  Iraqis are learning what this so-called "insurgency" is about; they aren't rebels, they're invaders.  They are trying to take over the country, and a good number of them aren't even from Iraq to begin with.  They want to take over the country and place the Iraqis in even harsher conditions than Saddam ruled them under.  Thus, the sooner the Iraqis start rooting these worms out from under the rocks they're under, the better.

I don't get it, so maybe one of you can explain it to me.

Andrew Sullivan's blog, "The Dish" is one of the more popular sites on the blogosphere.  His huge reader base has been built on his reputation as a writer for Time Magazine, The London Guardian, and Free Republic.  From what I know his blog is consistently in the top 10 of the "Ecosystem", which ranks the most frequented and linked blogs in the blogosphere.

So Andrew decides last year that he'd start a fundraising drive in order to cover his blogging expenses.  He asks people to donate to help him with the upkeep of his site.  He collected over $80,000 on the first one, and some accounts have said altogether (he's done at least two) that he's collected over $200,000 from his readers.

That's right.  World domination is finally within my grasp.

Speaking of wanting something in my grasp:



Can someone give me a trip to Kenya for my birthday?

It's in June, so you have four months.  Someone in the blogosphere surely can hook a brotha up, right? :-D

   - While I'm thinking about it, congrats to Wake for whupping Duke, and subsequently placing the Tarheels back on the top of the food chain.  Damned shame that we can't pay you back for the game from Jan 15th until the ACC Tournament, but don't worry...it's just a delay in the inevitable.  We'll be ready.

    - Andy Reid must have put the lockdown on Freddie Mitchell's mouth.  First, Freddie complained that he didn't get his own podium for media day (someone obviously didn't give him the note that TO is playing on Sunday, which makes him the fourth option behind TO, Westbrook, and Pinkston.  Hell; possibly behind activated TE Jeff Thomason, too).  Eagles TE L.J. Smith stated Reid told the boys to chill out or face repercussions.  It's looks like it's taking a toll on Mitchell's mood, as Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel said Mitchell had a terrible Media Day on Tuesday.

There has been a lot of talk about a New Jersey family being massacred a couple of weeks ago, possibly by jiihadists.

I didn't pay serious attention to it until I read this on Little Green Footballs today.  From the New York Sun via The Counterterrorism blog:

A radical Islamic Web site systematically tracks Christians on PalTalk.com, an Internet chat service on which a New Jersey man received a death threat two months before he and his family were murdered.  The password protected Arabic Web site, at the address www.barsomyat.com, features pictures and information about Christians who have been particularly active in debating Muslims on PalTalk.

One page from barsomyat.com features a group of photographs of a Syrian Christian, "Joseph," who now lives in Canada.  Barsomyat.com's users have posted personal information about Joseph, including his brother's parole status, and make clear that they are actively trying to track down his current address.

Subscribers also post explicit warnings to Joseph.  One comment states, "Know, oh Christian, that you are not far from us and you are under our watchful eyes!"  Another user remarks, "Laugh, oh Chrisitan, and soon you will see a big hit."

I am a member of Paltalk, and have personally visited those chatrooms.  In fact, a friend of mine in Texas was an administrator in what is probably the most anti-Islamic chatroom on Paltalk:  America and Allies United Against Terror.  It's possible that I've even heard this guy speak in the chatroom before, since they are all voice-oriented.  I really don't frequent those chatrooms as much anymore, but I know the rhetoric is very thick and the sparks automatically fly that one as well as  other chatrooms on Paltalk.  I can almost guarantee you that the regulars in that chatroom are probably being targeted by these people.

I wish I could say this sort of thing surprises me, but it doesn't.  People can get very personal and it can get nasty in those chatrooms, and not just the political ones.  You have to be very careful when dealing with people on Paltalk.

The blog JihadWatch has been all over the murders from the get-go.  He had one of his contacts explain how this family was butchered:

A close friend of Hossam Armanious and relatives of the family murdered in New Jersey have revealed the following:

Shortly after the murders, members of the Egyptian consulate went to visit the family to encourage them to keep quiet. And many family members have obeyed, saying nothing to reporters or anyone else. However, two family members and another Copt viewed the bodies at the funeral home. One of these eyewitnesses said that he clearly saw that the family members had not suffered “stab wounds to the throat,” as the prosecutor’s report states, but rather the following:

A. Both adults, Hossam and Amal, had a horizontal slit across the throat. Below the slit, on the left, right and middle of the throat were three holes, big enough so that one could place a finger in each hole. According to the eyewitness, it was as if the assailant(s) took a knife and turned it repeatedly in a circular fashion, as if to screw holes into the victims’ necks.

B. The two young girls, Sylvia (15) and Monica (8), also had a horizontal slits in their throats, along with two holes bored below the slits, one on the right and one on the left sides of their necks. The holes were similar to those on their parents’ necks.

C. The eyewitness said although the bodies of the victims were all covered, he was able to see the arms of the little girl Monica. Although the tattoo of the cross inside Monica’s wrist was not defaced, he saw that her wrists were cut. He was not able to see the wrists of the other victims to see if the crosses on their wrists were defaced.

D. Though the family wants to reserve judgment until the results of the case are released, they did say that the way the four family members were bound and gagged and the way their throats were slit with holes carved is similar to executions that are shown on al-Jazeera. The American public is not aware of this because the details of the executions are not often described in news accounts.

Amal Garas’s father said that (contrary to many news reports and CAIR’s press release) none of the family’s jewelry was taken, and that Amal owned some quite expensive pieces that were not touched. At the time of her murder, Amal was wearing a ring worth $3,500 that was not taken.

This wasn't some routine burglary/homicide.  There's no question in my mind that someone wanted this guy dead in the worst way.

In fact, JihadWatch translates what was posted after the family was massacred:

Bibo 117: This is a picture of the filthy dog, curser of Muhammad (Hissam Armanios) and a photo of his filthy wife, curser of Muhammad (Amal Jaras). They got what they deserved for their actions in America. They were slaughtered along with their children as a punishment from the heavens to those who curse the most divine of all who were created.

Exception one: Allah bless you all! I read about this incident on the news websites, but how do you know they were cursers of Muhammad and that they were murdered by Muslims? Why were the children killed as well? I never thought this was the act of Muslims -- maybe there had been another reason for their murder? Oh well, Allah knows! Had they indeed been cursers of Muhammad this was a powerful punishment from Allah. We should ask Allah to let all their dog brothers who curse Muhammad and harm him to join their fate!

Mostafahamed: Beware brothers of the plot attempting to blame Muslims for the incident, or maybe attempting to worsen their situation in America and Europe even more. We don’t need to speculate assumptions that may infer that we Muslims are behind it.

Bibo 117: (is asked to elaborate on his sources) My beloved sister FTAT UAE, I don’t know anything about the subject other than what has been published in the NYPOST. The above excerpt from the paper points out that he (Hissam) was one of the most prominent participants in the Christian chat rooms of the Middle East section of paltalk. As to he killed him and what were his motives that I don’t know till this very day. What I said in the message I posted was that there is a punishment from Allah to all who offend Muhammad!

Here is a image of the page from the website showing a picture of the slain couple.  It's a crying shame that this story is reduced to only a few news articles within the mainstream press.  More attention needs to be drawn to this danger before these maggots strike again.