The Light: Hillary

Yankees pitcher AJ Burnett pitched the game of his life Thursday night, giving up only one run (which could just as easily been an unearned run, but who knows the ways of Official Scorers?). The final score of the second game was 3 -1 Yankees. Tex (Mark Texiera) tied up the score with a home run, then in the 6th, Hideki “Godzilla” Matsui put the Yankees ahead for the first time in this series with another home run, the seoond off of their old nemesis, Pedro Martinez. The Yanks were able to tack on an insurance run in the 7th after Martinez had left the game, a smile on his face as Yankee fans chanted, “Who’s your daddy?” Mariano Rivera took the mound from AJ Burnett in the 8th, and got 6 outs to end the game. The Series is all tied up at one apiece.

Once again, though, a bad call, and a questionable call, both by the same umpire, Brian Gorman (first base), no doubt impacted the game. The bad came against the Yankees. Rather than the Yankees ending up with the bases loaded, a double play was called despite replay evidence that showed, without a doubt, that the ball was not caught in the air, thus both players should have been safe. The questionable call was on the other side, when Chase Utley was called out at first on the second half of a double play in the 8th. (And this is why many think we need instant replay, at least at this level of play. I have seen umpires use it in other instances, so the lack of it in the World Series is a bit surprising. Some would argue that these two calls evened out, but there is a difference between the bases loaded and 1 out, and runners at the corners and 2 outs. Just saying.) HOPEFULLY, despite evidence to the contrary, tonight will prove to be a better game by the umpires.

(Keith Allison)
Tonight (Saturday), the Yankees travel to Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia to meet the Phillies to continue the series. The Yankees will put veteran Andy Pettitte on the mound. Pettitte has won more post season games than any other pitcher ever with 16 under his belt, and one of the prettiest wind-ups in the MLB along with the recently retired Tom Glavine. His regular season record was 14-8 with an ERA of 4.16, though his post season ERA this year is 2.37. The Ragin’ Cajun (okay, he is only part Cajun, but he is from Baton Rouge originally) will take the mound in search of his 17th win, and the edge to his team.

(totalprosports.com)

On the mound for the Philies tonight is Cole Hamels, a relatively young pitcher who is also a southpaw like Andy Pettitte. That should make lineup choices even more interesting. Hamels has a regular season record of 10-11, with an ERA of 4.32. His post season record is 1-1, with an ERA of 6.75. Hamels injured his throwing elbow in Spring Training, which has impacted his ability to hit his spots from time to time. Still, the World Series has the ability to elevate pitchers to their best, and that is what Phillies fans are hoping to see from their young pitcher tonight.

Both teams are hoping their sluggers will rise from their slumber. Yankees 3rd baseman A-Rod has gone a surprising 0 - 8 with 6 strikeouts in the two games, especially after the great offense he provided in the ALCS. No doubt, he is hoping a change of venue will get his bat working again. Yankees fans worry that he has returned to his previous post-season slump, though hopes spring high that arguably the best player in baseball will return to his regular form.

On the other side, Ryan Howard, the Phillies first baseman, is struggling at the plate, too, racking up four strikeouts in the second game of the series. No doubt, the Phillies hope he will be able to return to his Game 1 performance of a couple of doubles, or more.

Bottom line, pitchers on both sides are hoping to shut down these two offensive threats, and the threats the powerful line-ups of both teams represent. The Yankees, though, are hoping that this Halloween will work out like the game they played back in 2001. You may recall that the World Series was postponed as a result of 9/11, so that was the FIRST game in the series. Naturally, the Phillies hope the magic tonight will go their way.

On a personal level, one of the cool things about living near Charleston, SC for me is that we have a Single A farm team for the Yankees, the Riverdogs. In this series, five active players, four for the Yanks, one for the Phillies, came up through Charleston. One of those players for the Yankees, Brett Gardner, was a standout outfielder at the College of Charleston, and did not play for the Riverdogs. The other three players for the Yankees are pitchers, and did come through the Riverdogs: Phil Hughes, David Robertson, and Phil Coke. The former Riverdog for the Phillies is also a pitcher, Scott Eyre (he came up some time ago before the Riverdogs were a Yankees farm team). Cool, huh?

Saturday’s game is on Fox, at 7:57. And once again, regrettably, with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver calling the game (honestly, can Fox not get any better commentators than these two? There have GOT to be better sportscasters out there!). It should be a mild night for baseball, with no rain predicted.

Hope to see you here during the game. (And no doubt, Helenk will provide us with more videos of the Mummers Strut!)

(Bumped up from October 22nd for today’s Halloween.)

Happy Halloween everyone!

The
World Economic Forum recently released the results of their study on the progress of attaining gender equity within countries, controlling for overall wealth disparities.

Whereas the United States may be proud of its advances in Civil Rights over the last 50 or so years, where do women stand now compared to men with regards to economic participation, education, health, and political power?

Well, the news is not exactly what women in the United States want to hear. We are ranked just behind Lithuania and just in front of Namibia. In fact, two African countries afford their women more gender equity than we do here.

The best of the 115 countries ranked were Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden and New Zealand. Two African countries — South Africa and Lesotho — appear for the first time to round out the top 10 along with Denmark, Ireland and the Philippines.

The bottom ranked are Qatar, Egypt, Mali, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Benin, Pakistan, and Chad with Yemen trailing in last.

So, where are we? The United States is in 31st, down four ranks since the last study.

Associated Press Writer, Edith Lederer, cites Saadia Zahidi, head of the forum’s Women Leaders and Gender Parity Program:

The survey shows that on health, “the world is doing fairly well,” closing over 96 percent of the gap in resources between women and men, Zahidi said. On education, about 93 percent of the gap has been closed but on economic participation and opportunity only 60 percent has been closed and on political empowerment only 17 percent.

“…Basically what we’re saying is that across the world, in general, women are starting to be almost as healthy and almost as educated as men — obviously with major exceptions — but those resources are not being used efficiently in terms of economic participation and certainly not in terms of political decision-making,” Zahidi said.

So, half of the women’s population around the world have a ways yet to go before full equality is realized. And the United States has further to go than 30 other countries.

Hang in there—it’s at least it’s mostly moving in the right direction…except for a few countries, including our own.

Pity poor old Dick Cheney. He barely knows who he is. Mind is slipping for sure. Latest evidence that he is living in the land of delusion is his insistence that the Bush Administration was on top of the Afghanistan problem because they undertook a review in the fall of 2008. Great! Someone tell Dickie that we sent forces to Afghanistan in 2001 and he and George Bush diverted U.S. military resources to Iraq for the next seven years.

Now we have further evidence that Dick’s mind was slipping back in 2004. Today’s release of the FBI’s interview notes with Cheney about the leak of Valerie Plame’s name and identity as a covert CIA officer proves conclusively that Cheney’s gone soft in the noodle. Here’s the transcript.

If you can’t wade thru the bullshit, here’s the AP summation:

Vice President Dick Cheney told the FBI he had no idea who leaked to the news media that Valerie Plame, wife of a Bush administration critic, worked for the CIA.
An FBI summary of Cheney’s interview from 2004 reflects that the vice president had deep concern about Plame’s husband, Joseph Wilson, a former U.S. ambassador in Africa who said the administration had twisted prewar intelligence on Iraq.
Cheney’s chief of staff, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, was convicted of perjury, obstruction and lying to the FBI in the probe of who leaked Plame’s identity to the news media. At the end of Libby’s trial, prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said that “there is a cloud over the vice president” in the leaking of Plame’s identity.
Following Libby’s conviction, President George W. Bush commuted Libby’s 30-month prison sentence but rejected Cheney’s vehement appeals to pardon Libby.
The 28-page FBI interview summary was released Friday to a watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which sued to get the material under the Freedom of Information Act.
In the interview, whose participants included Fitzgerald, Cheney told agents that he did not recall having a conversation about either Plame or her husband with Bush.
The vice president said he probably discussed Wilson with Bush’s top political adviser, Karl Rove, but told the FBI he would not have talked to Rove about Wilson’s wife.
Cheney’s denials that he talked about Plame are among the few things in the lengthy interview with the FBI that Cheney appeared certain about. He repeatedly said he could not recall key events. Among them, he said he did not recall discussing Wilson’s wife with Libby before her CIA employment was publicly revealed by conservative columnist Robert Novak in mid-July 2003.

That Cheney, when he is on the Alzheimer’s express, is a funny motherfucker. He’s miffed at the CIA that they would think he wanted information about Iraq and its quest for nuclear weapons. Why would they think that? Just because he asked his briefer for more information does not mean the CIA will take the VP’s request seriously.

And why in the world would the CIA send Ambassador Joe Wilson to Niger to find out if there was any credibility to the report? What the hell qualifies Joe Wilson? OK, just because he was the acting Ambassador in Iraq and faced down Saddam Hussein and saved American hostages does not mean anything. Just because Joe Wilson was the U.S. point person in Iraq for monitoring Iraq’s efforts to acquire nuclear weapons does not mean he is that qualified. He may have been one of the more informed people in the United States about Iraq’s nuclear activities and its efforts to acquire uranium yellow cake, but that is no reason to send him on a mission to Africa.

And what in the name of Allah does Joe Wilson know about Africa? Ok, let’s ignore the fact that he served as foreign service officer in several countries in Africa, he was an Ambassador in Africa and he was in charge of Africa at the National Security Council. Just because he followed the issue of uranium exports from Niger and their possible use in nuclear proliferation does not qualify Joe Wilson to do anything but drink green tea.

Talk about amateur hour. The CIA sent a former Ambassador, with area knowledge of the two countries involved in a possible sale of uranium, and then, when he came back, sent over a reports officer and debriefed the old has been (a subsequently produced a classified intelligence report). Boy, talk about goofy procedure. (Of course, that is exactly how an intelligence agency operates but why should that little fact trouble the empty mind of Dick Cheney?)

When it comes to who leaked the identity of Valerie Plame we now can make the startling announcement that Dick Cheney is Butterfly McQueen (which means he has no dick). He don’t know nothing bout leakin no name of a CIA gal.

When shown the NY Times article with Cheney’s own handwritten scribbles in the margin (which just happened to become the basis for the talking points subsequently employed by Republican lackeys to attack Joe Wilson and his wife, Valerie, is just a damned miracle) the absent minded Vice President really had no idea why anyone would want to know anything about Valerie Wilson.

Yet his notes tell a different story:

In neat writing above the text of the column, prosecutors say, Mr. Cheney wrote: “Have they done this sort of thing before? Send an Amb. to answer a question? Do we ordinarily send people out pro bono to work for us? Or did his wife send him on a junket?”

If Cheney really did not know much about Valerie Wilson then why did he suggest she “sent him on a junket?”

Why worry about such discrepancies. Let’s remember who the real bad guy is–Joe Wilson. He had the audacity to report the same information that the U.S. Ambassador to Niger and the Deputy Commander of EUCOM had previously reported–Niger was not selling Iraq uranium and had not sold uranium to Iraq. Let this be a lesson Joe, don’t tell the true. We preferred being lied to. That’s why we placed George W. Bush with Barack Obama. We traded one liar for a better liar.

That is a question I have asked myself time and time again since Obama took office on a number of issues, including expanding the Faith Based Initiatives, or my fave, the incredibly unConstitutional “Prolonged Detention” of American Citizens, holding them in custody indefinitely without charges.

Turns out I am not the only one who wonders why Obama continues to get a free pass for actions that, had Bush done them, would be front page news (and again, I have NO love lost for Bush - absolutely zero, but fair is fair). Josh Gerstein of Politico had these same questions, about which he wrote in this article, What If Bush Had Done That?. Indeed:

A four-hour stop in New Orleans, on his way to a $3 million fundraiser.

Snubbing the Dalai Lama.

Signing off on a secret deal with drug makers.

Freezing out a TV network.

Doing more fundraisers than the last president. More golf, too.

President Barack Obama has done all of those things — and more.

What’s remarkable is what hasn’t happened. These episodes haven’t become metaphors for Obama’s personal and political character — or consuming controversies that sidetracked the rest of his agenda.

It’s a sign that the media’s echo chamber can be a funny thing, prone to the vagaries of news judgment, and an illustration that, in politics, context is everything.

Conservatives look on with a mix of indignation and amazement and ask: Imagine the fuss if George W. Bush had done these things?

The media’s “echo chamber”? That is a kind reference for what they are really doing, or rather aren’t doing: their jobs. Conservatives aren’t the only ones questioning why this is happening. Anyone who truly cares about the our democracy and the state of journalism in this country are asking, too. But they do ask a good question:

And quickly add, with a hint of jealousy: How does Obama get away with it?

“We have a joke about it. We’re going to start a website: IfBushHadDoneThat.com,” former Bush counselor Ed Gillespie said. “The watchdogs are curled up around his feet, sleeping soundly. … There are countless examples: some silly, some serious.”

Indeed, Bush got grief for secret meetings with the oil industry, politicizing the White House and spending too much time on his beloved bike. But it’s not just Republicans who notice. Media observers note that the president often gets kid-glove treatment from the press, fellow Democrats and, particularly, interest groups on the left — Bush’s loudest critics, Obama’s biggest backers.

But others say there’s a larger phenomenon at work — in the story line the media wrote about Obama’s presidency. For Bush, the theme was that of a Big Business Republican who rode the family name to the White House, so stories about secret energy meetings and a certain laziness, intellectual and otherwise, fit neatly into the theme, to be replayed over and over again.

Obama’s story line was more positive from the start: historic newcomer coming to shake up Washington. So the negatives that sprung up around Obama — like a sense that he was more flash than substance — track what negative coverage he’s received, captured in a recent “Saturday Night Live” skit that made fun of his lack of accomplishments in office.

“There may well be almost an unconscious effort on the part of the media to give Obama a bit more slack because he is more likable, because he is the first African-American president. That plays into it,” said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political analyst at the University of Southern California.

Democrats find the complaints of Obama “getting a pass” hard to stomach in light of the way the press treated Bush — particularly on the single biggest mistake of his presidency, relying on the faulty intelligence leading up to the war in Iraq. Now, Obama’s aides say, the positive coverage simply reflects the fact that their efforts are succeeding.

“As our administration makes progress on the agenda that Washington has ignored for too long, we expect we’ll get some news coverage of that progress that we like and some tough coverage that we don’t,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. “It’s not unlike the New Orleans Saints, who are getting lots of good coverage of their perfect record so far — certainly better coverage than the [2-5] Redskins — but it doesn’t mean the Saints have liked every story that’s been written about them since training camp. It goes with the territory.”

There are signs the friendly tone toward Obama is ebbing. Case in point: a front-page story in The New York Times noting that Obama’s all-male basketball games drew fire from the head of the National Organization for Women, who called the games “troubling.”

I agree that Bush seemed to be treated with kit gloves, way, way too much for my liking. The media does seem to enjoy determining who our next president will be. But even Bush’s treatment pales in comparison to the lovefest the MSM has had for Obama.

So yes, they are now asking why Obama excludes women (though he has now tried to rectify that by asking ONE woman, Melody Barnes, to play golf with him) in his games? We have known for ages that often, it is on the golf course or basketball court that favors are curried or power is amassed, hence the desire for women to achieve membership in numerous country clubs across the country. Oh, and Obama’s response to the NY Time’s articles highlighting that women were excluded? “Bunk, ” he said. Uh, yeah, no. It isn’t, President Obama.

There are too many examples of just how Obama has been allowed to skate free:

But here are other stories in which Obama seems to have gotten a pass:

New Orleans

As a candidate, Obama railed against the Bush administration for abandoning and then neglecting the people of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. He made five campaign trips to the city.

But as president, Obama waited almost nine months before visiting the Big Easy, spent less than four hours on the ground there and then jetted to San Francisco for a $3 million Democratic fundraiser.

“Don’t judge anybody on the amount of time that they’ve spent there. Judge only what this administration promised that they would do, what they’ve done every day and what they’re continuing to work on,” press secretary Robert Gibbs said, pointing to positive reviews of the federal government’s efforts under Obama.

For their part, Democrats can’t see how Bush officials can muster much umbrage over anything related to New Orleans, given how the Republican administration handled the initial response to Katrina.

Forget “Bush Officials.” How about us plain ol’ Americans? We’re pretty pissed off about it, too. Just saying. A biggie is this:

Managing The Press

When the Obama administration moved in recent weeks to isolate and disparage Fox News as a wing of the Republican Party, there were few immediate howls of outrage — even from Fox’s fellow journalists in the media.

Press defenders and First Amendment advocates who jumped on the Bush administration for using military analysts to shape war coverage reacted with a yawn to the White House’s announcement that it had deemed Fox to be not a “legitimate news organization.”

“Had I said about MSNBC what the Obama White House said about Fox, the media uproar would still be going on,” said Ari Fleischer, who served as Bush’s press secretary until 2003. “I instinctively would have known … the media would have leapt to their feet to defend them. I’m shocked it’s not happening now.”

One press veteran agreed. “If George Bush had taken on MSNBC, what would have happened?” said Phil Bronstein, editor-at-large of the San Francisco Chronicle. “That’s one place you can point to a real difference in how I’d imagine Bush would be treated.”

No freakin’ kidding. People would be screaming their fool heads off about free speech. But the Obamam crowd? They just jump on the Fox bashing bandwagon. Nice.

And this is a big one, too:

Politicizing the White House

Throughout the Bush administration, liberal critics warned that the hand of Bush political adviser Karl Rove was spreading politics into all corners of government. Reporters were on alert for any sign that politics was infecting the work of federal agencies. One top appointee got in hot water for allegedly asking agency officials to work to “help our candidates” across the country.

So some Bush aides went nearly apoplectic earlier this month when they spotted Gibbs and Obama’s political guru, David Axelrod, in photos of a Situation Room meeting on Afghanistan policy.

“Oh, the howling and screaming that would have happened if Karl Rove was sitting in on even a deputies-level meeting where strategy was being hammered out. People would have just gone ballistic,” said Peter Feaver, a former White House aide for both Bush and Bill Clinton.

Also, in about nine months, Obama has already attended more than two dozen fundraising events, while Bush did only six in his first year in office, according to a tally by CBS’s Mark Knoller.

Gibbs said Obama had to do more to raise a similar amount of money, since the kinds of soft-money fundraisers Bush did early on were banned. “This president … doesn’t accept money from PACs or lobbyists and doesn’t allow lobbyists to give at fundraisers that he’s at, as well,” Gibbs added.

Uh, yeah, sure, okay, Mr. Mealy Mouth Man. We all buy that one, right? Uh, yeah, no.

Then there is this one:

Dealing With Business, In Secret

Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney endured years of criticism and lawsuits that stretched all the way to the Supreme Court over secret meetings Cheney’s Energy Task Force held with oil and gas companies. When the policy emerged, critics said Cheney was carrying water for the industry.

Obama pledged to hash out health care reform live on C-SPAN and excoriated Bush for kowtowing to the drug industry. But aides signed off on the drug industry’s agreement to find $80 billion in savings to support reform. However, Obama aides didn’t disclose that the agreement involved the White House promising that current health legislation wouldn’t include further cuts or give the government the right to negotiate over drug prices.

I admit, this did actually get a rise from a few folks, like Greg Palast. But that moment seems to have passed now. Now, people rarely mention it. Big surprise…

And another issue near and dear to many of us:

Toning Down Human Rights

During the campaign, Obama talked tough on China. While candidate Obama pushed Bush to take a hard line, President Obama hasn’t. Hoping to win China’s help on Iran and North Korea, Obama skipped a meeting with the Dalai Lama and said little when China undertook a violent crackdown in its largely Muslim Xinjiang region. The White House has pledged to meet with the Dalai Lama later.

And while candidate Obama warned Bush against a “reckless and cynical initiative [that] would reward a regime in Khartoum that has a record of failing to live up to its commitments,” President Obama’s envoy to Sudan, Scott Gration, seemed to lay out a similar incentive-driven approach.

“We’ve got to think about giving out cookies,” said Gration. “Kids, countries — they react to gold stars, smiley faces, handshakes, agreements, talk, engagement.” The White House backed away from Gration’s characterization of the strategy but did recently lay out a strategy of engaging with the Sudanese regime.

Obama snubbed the DALAI LAMA. C’mon already - THAT’S not going to get an outcry? He’s the DALAI LAMA, for pete’s sake! No? *Crickets*

Just for, um, fun:

Traveling And Recreating

In his campaign and as president, Bush was mocked for a lack of interest in all things foreign — seven minutes touring the Kremlin, 25 minutes at the Great Wall of China, before declaring, “Let’s go home.”

During a trip to Europe in June, Obama chastised German and French reporters for suggesting that he was snubbing those countries by making only brief stops in each. “There are only 24 hours in the day. And so there’s nothing to any of that speculation beyond us just trying to fit in what we could do on such a short trip,” he told reporters in Germany.

But after taking his wife out for an attention-grabbing date night, Obama promptly jetted back to Washington. Within about 90 minutes of arriving at the White House, the tightly scheduled president was on the move again — headed to Andrews Air Force Base to play nine holes of golf.

How quickly people change. If Bush had done ANY of these things, the HuffPo and Daily Kos crowds would have been going ballistic about it. But now that it’s THEIR guy, it’s peachy keen. Where is the sense of fair play? Where is the concept of right is right? No, all of that gets completely thrown out of the window if it is someone they actually LIKE.

That is just sad. While ethics can be situational, the similarities between Bush and Obama are glaring, as many of us said they were all along. To completely disregard any sense of decency because it’s their guy weakens their arguments about choosing him in the first place. It makes it crystal clear that this is about winning at all costs, and choosing someone with little more than a teleprompter to do so.

It weakens their arguments against Bush, too, though they will most likely never admit that. But it’s true. In this case, what’s god for the gander, is, well, good for the gander.

Maybe if the media actually starts to do its job (for instance, where are all of the photos of Obama playing golf all of the time? Or basketball? They never failed to show Bush playing or riding his bike.), maybe they will start to open their eyes. One can hope, anyway. In the meantime, it continues to be our job to hold Obama’s feet to the fire for decisions he makes, and doesn’t make. It is our job to hold up the glaring similarities between Bush and Obama. And do so we will…

What is the real economy doing? While yesterday’s GDP printed a surprisingly strong 3.5%, are we to take that on face value? If we care to most effectively navigate the economic landscape, we should dig a little deeper.

A full 2.2% of the 3.5% rise was directly correlated to Uncle Sam’s support of the auto and residential construction sectors of the economy. Another .6% of the GDP was directly correlated to federal spending. Obviously, the Uncle Sam economy implies a large presence by that jolly old man. However, all that money Sam is pumping is nothing more than borrowing from future generations and pulling demand forward.

What would the economy have done on its own without the government support? Let’s listen to Christina Romer. Recall that Ms. Romer referenced last week that this quarter would provide the peak impact of benefits accruing from Uncle Sam’s economic stimulus. What does she say about this GDP report?

The Wall Street Journal references Ms. Romer in writing, Economy Snaps Long Slump:

Without stimulus programs such as “cash for clunkers” and a first-time homebuyer’s credit, “real GDP would have risen little, if at all, this past quarter,” Christina Romer, president of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said in a statement.

Why does Ms. Romer provide that sobering view of the economy? Very simply, if the American consumer represents 70% of the economy, then we should largely focus on that consumer. What did we learn about the consumer over the last quarter?

The Financial Times’ John Auther informs us in writing, Short View: GDP Grows, but Pain Remains:

Household disposable incomes actually fell during the quarter, by 3.4 per cent, but consumer spending rose, also by 3.4 per cent. This is not a pattern that can be sustained for long, and it is inconsistent with the need for US families to pay down their debts.

What does that disparity between income and spending represent? An unsustainable economic path. What else does it mean? The U.S. economy just had “Christmas in July.”

Did you get anything in your stocking?

LD

(Bumped up from Thursday evening.)

I must warn you, this is a difficult story to read. Honestly, I had to stop a few times to compose myself. My comments will be limited as the horrific nature of this story is overwhelming. I will bold aspects of particular importance. And I know this introduction is a bit dry, but it is only because I am trying not to cry as I work on this.

Okay, here goes: Police: Gang Rape Outside School Dance Lasted Over Two Hours.

That pretty much says it all, but believe it or not, it is even worse once you see all of the facts of the case. If you choose, you can watch this video with the Police giving the basic outline of this case:

Yes, you heard that right. She had to be airlifted out:

A California high school student who police said was gang raped in a two-and-a-half-hour assault outside a homecoming dance remained hospitalized in stable condition Monday, two days after she was flown from the attack scene in critical condition.

As of late Monday, two suspects had been arrested in the case and a third was being questioned.

“There is one individual in custody who has made some spontaneous statements that have led me to believe that he is culpable for what happened,” Richmond police Lt. Johan Simon said.

Nineteen-year-old Manuel Ortega, described as a former student at the school, was arrested soon after he fled the scene and will face charges of rape, robbery and kidnapping, police said.

A 15-year-old was later arrested and charged with one count of felony sexual assault. A third teenager was being interviewed, according to Lt. Mark Gagan of the police department in Richmond, California.

“Based on witness statements and suspect statements, and also physical evidence, we know that she was raped by at least four suspects committing multiple sex acts,” Gagan said.

If you think this couldn’t get much worse, it does:

Investigators said as many as 15 people, all males, stood around watching the assault, but did not call police or help the victim, a 15-year-old student at Richmond High School in suburban San Francisco.

“As people announced over time that this was going on, more people came to see, and some actually participated,” Gagan said.

Authorities had interviewed the victim, and the search for other attackers and bystanders who watched and did not report the rape was in “full-court press,” according to Gagan.

“We have checked Facebook and YouTube to try to find any revealing evidence,” he said. “We’re looking in particular to see if anyone posted any video of the incident.”

Several other individuals were detained at the scene but not arrested, Simon said.

The attack occurred on school grounds as the annual homecoming dance was under way inside the school Saturday night, authorities said.

One moment, please…Alright. Here is the conclusion:

The victim was found unconscious and “brutally assaulted” under a bench shortly before midnight Saturday, after police received a call from someone in the area who had overheard people at the assault scene “reminiscing about the incident,” Gagan said.

“She ended up with those guys under her own will because she knew one of the boys who had gone to the high school before,” Gagan said. “Right now, we’re looking at toxicology reports to determine her blood-alcohol content and to determine if she was drugged.”

According to authorities, the victim was flown to an area hospital in critical condition. She was in stable condition Monday, police said.

“This just gets worse and worse the more you dig into it,” Gagan said. “It was like a horror movie after looking at the evidence. I can’t believe not one person felt compelled to help her.” (CNN’s Sara Pratley contributed to this report.)

Neither can I.

Not one person helped this girl. No one, NO ONE, called the police for her.

Observers joined in.

There are no words for what happened to this poor young girl. There are no words to describe the actions of these young men, participants and observers alike. I pray that this girl will recover fully from her assault, though physically is the only area in which I can see full healing to take place. Of course, I hope she will heal emotionally and psychologically, in time. But it will take a lot of time, a lot of work on her part, a tremendous amount of support, and a very good therapist. Even then, it may not be enough…

I do know that this girl will never be the same. Never.

UPDATED: Alert NQ reader, “ImaLindaToo,” provided this Link provides more information about the level of security at the school, the girl who was raped, and the four perpetrators arrested so far (though they think it was up to TEN perpetrators). Additional links here and here from Catherine.

This toon has been borrowed from The Nose On Your Face.

In this open thread, you may only praise The One. Otherwise, he’ll cast a spell on you and shun you!

Since Barry probably doesn’t read No Quarter, say what the hell you want. Enjoy free speech while you can.

Thanks to Larry Johnson for sending this toon.

On the strength of an impressive outing by pitcher Cliff Lee, who threw a complete game, and Chase Utley’s hitting, the Phillies took Game 1 of the World Series 6-1 in their drive for back to back World Series championships. It was a masterful performance by Lee, even if his cocky fielding aggravated more than a few Yankees’ fans. Still, there is no denying he pitched a fantastic game with sufficient offensive support to get him the win. Phillies fans should be thrilled.

CC Sabathia made two mistakes last night - and Chase Utley made him pay for them with two home runs. That was all the Phillies needed last night. The one run the Yankees scored late in the game came on an error, thus does not affect Lee’s ERA.

As for the Yankees, Sabathia kept the game close, but the bullpen continued to dismay Yankee fans. They gave up 4 runs in just 2 innings after Sabatia gave up 2 in 7 innings. Girardi’s choice of relievers continued to puzzle the Yankee faithful, as did his decision to keep the outfielder, Nick Swisher, in the lineup. Swisher’s abysmal hitting has hurt the Yankees throughout the post season (Texeira has also suffered at the plate, but his stellar defense makes his presence on the field critical). The one bright spot for the Yankees was Derek Jeter, who had 3 of the Yankees’ 6 hits.

All in all, a great win for Philly. Still,the umpires managed to get several plays wrong, not to mention the variable strike zone of home plate umpire, Gerry Davis, for both teams. As I always say, I don’t care what the umpire decides is the strike zone is as long as it is consistent for both teams. But when it changes from inning to inning, sometimes pitch to pitch, it makes it hard on both the pitcher and the batter - no one knows what a pitch will be called (and this is not the first time Gerry Davis has had difficulty with consistency). Hopefully, tonight’s game will be free of questionable calls.

And speaking of tonight’s game, once again, it is at 7:57 p.m., again on Fox. The game pits Phillies pitcher Pedro “The Yankees Are My Daddy” Martinez (Regular season 5-1, 3.63 ERA; Post season 0-0, 0 ERA)) against A.J. Burnett (Regular season 13-9, 4.04 ERA; Post season 0-0, 4.42 ERA).

Yankees fans love to razz Pedro Martinez for his infamous statement, made all the worse for him since it came while he was a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. Calling the Yankees his “daddy” was a high compliment, of course, but also a pretty funny thing to say. Martinez isn’t the same dominant pitcher he was then, but he is still mighty good. Expect to see some good pitches from this seasoned veteran. (AP Photo)

Honestly, I would be THRILLED if A.J. Burnett only gave up 2 runs. That would be something new and different for him. To say he has been shaky in his last starts pretty much sums it up. He is either great, or horrible, with little room in between. Personally, I’m hoping for a great start from him today, or at least for him to keep it close. Either would be a nice change of pace from his previous post-season starts. (Getty Images)

Once again, for those who are interested, feel free to come hang out here and discuss the game as it goes along, or anything else that’s on your mind. I hope to see you later!

Reprinted from my group’s blog at The New Agenda.

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Just like Whoopi’s: It wasn’t “rape-rape”.

And Rep Alan Grayson: She’s not a “whore-whore”.

I’m starting to get the feeling that Hillary Clinton isn’t “out-out“.

Yesterday, RealClearPolitics had this to say about the most recent belittlement of Hillary:

Hillary Clinton did not need another man stealing her thunder. Last week, John Kerry earned headlines for convincing Afghan President Hamid Karzai to agree to a run-off election. The Senate’s top man on foreign affairs looked more like the secretary of state. And naturally, political observers wondered where was the secretary of state?

Kerry took pains to convey that he did not upstage Clinton on the world stage. Rather, he said, she facilitated the shuttle diplomacy. But White House press secretary Robert Gibbs did not help matters. “Secretary Kerry,” Gibbs gaffed to reporters.

And of course, we couldn’t help but notice that Hillary is only #18 on GQ’s list of the most powerful in DC. Or the fact that The Sunday New York Times, page 1, mentioned that 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has been transformed into a frat house.

A couple of weeks ago, Tina Brown wrote a piece over at The Daily Beast titled Hillary and the ‘Woman Thing’. In Tina’s op-ed, she writes:

It’s as if she has learned how to circumnavigate that tiresome phallic competition and acknowledged what’s different—and valuable—about her own female nature.

A sort of rising above the whole fraternity ordeal and finding herself at peace.

Tina’s piece in a way reminded me of part of an op-ed that I wrote about Hillary for The Daily Beast in July titled Sit Down and Shut Up. The piece mostly focused on how Obama was keeping Hillary away from the public eye, but just as Tina writes about Hillary “circumnavigate the tiresome phallic competition”, here’s what I wrote about Palin:

But Sarah Palin, perhaps unwittingly, found a way to short circuit this whole diminution and demolition process. She decided that she didn’t want to be in the fraternity after all. She would rather charter her own sorority and set up her own rules.

Now there’s little doubt in my mind that Sarah Palin will be back. And there’s also little doubt in my mind that Palin will come after all those have wronged her along the way. Likely with much success.

And I’m also starting to wonder, as I watch as a very interested observer from the sideline, if Hillary won’t at some point reach that same tipping point. If Hillary isn’t now just grinning but behind the scenes counting up the offenses launched against her – some subtle, others not so subtle. And I wonder if Hillary isn’t contemplating as time goes on that in fact, revenge is a dish best served cold.

So as President Obama continues to fumble along and decline in popularity – and seems to alienate one part of his base and then another – from the LGBT community, to the far left, and now to women – where will we be in a year or two?

After the endless 2009 mea culpa’s from those who chastised our devotion to Hillary, calling us “Clinton Dead-enders,” and now realize, um, sorry – we were right, what’s next? How many more articles do we need to read about disillusioned Democrats yearning for Hillary.

Well maybe it’s just a dream, but as time marches on, I continue to wonder. And with support groups in place now like The New Agenda – even with NOW under new leadership – would we be silent for another misogyny-fest? Not hardly. We would be all over the blogosphere and airwaves crushing the sexist and stopping them in their tracks – just as we are doing now.

So we’ll keep watching. And dreaming.